Publisher's Synopsis
From award-winning author Andrew Biss comes a riveting story of top secret experiments, government deception and fatally misplaced trust.
May, 1953. Stalin has just died and the Cold War is in full swing. As relations between East and West continue to deteriorate, the race is on to research and develop the most advanced nuclear and biochemical weaponry, all beneath a heavy cloak of secrecy.
A young RAF Leading Aircraftman, meanwhile, has answered an advertisement looking for volunteers for tests to find a cure for the common cold. For fifteen shillings and a precious three-day pass, it was an offer that Ronald Maddison couldn't refuse. The reality of what he was letting himself in for, however, was something he couldn't have imagined in his worst nightmares.
A Cure for the Common Cold is a haunting, harrowing drama based on actual events, recalling the horrific fate of a young RAF volunteer under the guise of national security. With the issue of informed consent at its core, the story of a young man's life cut tragically short and his family's decades-long quest to unearth the truth became one of the most enduring cover-ups of the Cold War era.
