CABIN FEVER

In early 2020 an ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hot spots, the cruise ship Zaandam, owned by Holland America, was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, loaded with 1,200 passengers - Americans, Europeans and South Americans, plus 600 crew.

Most passengers were over the age of sixty-five. The virus had already killed and sickened passengers on other Holland America ships. But that was oceans away, and escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage, three weeks around the South American coastline, would carry on as scheduled, with no refunds. And it would be safe. But within days, people aboard Zaandam begin to fall sick. The world's ports shut down. Zaandam becomes a top story on the news and is denied safe harbor everywhere. With only two doctors aboard, few medical supplies and with dwindling food and water, the ship wanders the oceans on an unthinkable journey. CABIN FEVER is a riveting narrative thriller, revealing the ship's complex workings, and belowdecks into the personal lives of passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead. Michael Smith is a Miami-based investigative reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek. He reported extensively on COVID outbreaks on cruise ships and he has won the George Polk, Maria Moors Cabot, Robert F. Kennedy, and Gerald Loeb awards. Cabin Fever is his first book. Jonathan Franklin is a journalist based in South America for the past 24 years. He writes about conservation, organized crime, and survival at sea. He is the author of 33 Men, a best-seller published in 18 languages, 438 Days, under development as a major motion picture, and A Wild Idea. See above.