Mitty Blake's biggest mistake was actually doing his homework. He lives in an apartment in New York City. Mitty attends a private school, St. Raphael's. He started a project on infectious disease for biology class. In one of the old textbooks he used for his research, he found an envelope labeled "Scabs-VM epidemic, 1902, Boston." Inside were scabs from smallpox, which was all but destroyed during the twentieth century. For the next week, Mitty can't concentrate on his project, his best friend, Derek, his girlfriend, Olivia, or his classes. He was worried he would catch the virus after finding out that it was from a dangerous strain, variola major. This strain will kill him. His research gets him more and more worried. Mitty decides to write an email to numerous people and organizations on the internet. After writing back, it seems there is a good chance he might catch smallpox. After nine days have passed since touching the scabs, a woman from the CDC approaches Mitty on the street. As Mitty goes with her, he is hit on the head. When he is missing, his mother calls the police. By this point, the FBI has become involved. They ask both Olivia and Derek where Mitty might be. Olivia and Derek then figure out that the FBI is scared one of the contacts from the internet may have been a terrorist and they abducted Mitty to infect the nation. Meanwhile, Mitty regains consciousness in a locked basement. He figures out that there is almost no hope of escape. However, Mitty tricks them and locks his guards in the basement. A few hours later, Mitty rigs a furnace to poison them all with carbon monoxide gas. The next day, the terrorist group leaders come and are about to take Mitty away when he locks the door on them. Mitty had a few scratches from a fight with his guards, but no smallpox. He has to be treated for his wounds in a hospital. All of the terrorists died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Mitty and his friends and family then went back to their normal lives.