Alexandre Yersin, doctor, researcher, sailor, farmer, geographer, and collaborator of Louis Pasteur, is driven by an insatiable curiosity around the world. As a ship's doctor, he navigates the seas of Asia and immerses himself in ever new scientific adventures. In China, he makes a sensational discovery under dramatic circumstances: he identifies the plague bacillus and is the first to develop a vaccine against humanity's scourge. The French writer and bestselling author Patrick Deville narrates this extraordinary man's story and his era in a passionate adventure novel.