The Hot Zone is a true story about how knowledge of the Ebola virus was first developed and its background. The Ebola virus kills nine out of ten victims, and it kills quickly and painfully. It is extremely contagious and the victim's blood and vomit can spread the virus quickly. The Hot Zone details the experience of shedding light on the Ebola virus. The story begins with the story of a Frenchman, Charles Monet, who lived on a plantation in western Kenya. He loved the outdoors, so for New Year's Eve, he planned a camping trip with one of his friends. They went to Mount Elgon and spent the night in a large cave called Kitum Cave. After his trip to Mount Elgon, he felt completely normal and was able to return to work. Then seven days later, Monet had massive headaches that wouldn't seem to go away. These headaches caused back pain and the aspirin didn't work. Little did Charles Monet know that these were the first symptoms of the deadly virus inside him. Three days after the headaches, the fevers were accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Charles Monet's personality began to transform and he became a completely different but frightening person. The doctor sent him to a major hospital in Nairobi to treat his worsening illness. He traveled alone and during the entire flight he vomited blood mixed with a black liquid. After his long flight, he waited in the waiting room of the Nairobi hospital, unable to speak to anyone. Eventually, Charles Monet lost all control of his body and he began vomiting large amounts of blood as well as intestinal mucus. He has become a human viral bomb. A doctor, Dr. Musoke, and nurses immediately took him to a room and began looking for small traces of the virus and predicted that at some point it would escape to the human population. At the end of the book, the author takes his own trip to Kitum Cave. He describes his fear but excitement about traveling into the cave. He took space suits with him to protect him from the virus hidden in the cave. He gave himself an hour inside the cave, so as not to completely expose himself to the virus. Preston describes this cave as being bigger than a football field in every direction. It was hard for him knowing that a hot agent was in the cave. He also passed some tests for scientific research in the cave. The Hot Zone described the Ebola virus and the journey it took to learn about it in a very interesting way. He taught you more about viruses and how people can dedicate their lives to researching these deadly viruses..