Coma

Susan Wheeler is a third year med student who starts her surgical rotation at a Memorial Hospital and finds that an acquaintance, Nancy Greenly, is one of the patients and is now in a coma after undergoing a relatively minor procedure. She checks past files and finds that there are an abnormally large number of similar cases where relatively healthy people have gone into a coma after surgery. She thinks there's a connection with the Jefferson Institute, a long-term care facility. The more she looks into the comas the stranger her life gets: the assistant Chief of Staff tries to get her fired; her roommate is expelled; the nurse who had given her access to the files she reviewed is fired; and her supervisor, Dr. Mark Bellows, is set up for a drug bust. Clearly someone will go to any lengths to stop her. She is on the verge of being dismissed from the hospital when Chief of Staff Howard Stark steps in to protect her.

Despite warnings and threats, third year medical student Susan Wheeler continues her investigation into a series botched surgeries where patient are going into comas from which they will never awaken. She visits the Jefferson Institute and even manages to sneak out photos. She thinks she's found a connection to operating room 8 and may even have discovered how the comas are induced. She also finds common genetic markers in the victims. She discovers the video surveillance camera someone has set up in her apartment and advises the Chief of Staff, Dr. Howard Stark of her findings. She soon finds herself on the run from a madman intent on eliminating her.