Fourteen-year-old Tory Brennan faced a huge change in her life when her mom suddenly died, and she had to move to South Carolina to live with a father she barely knew. Who would have guessed that life would get even more complicated than that? When she and her pals, Ben, Shelton and Hi, caught an unusual strain of parvovirus from the research facility where their parents work, their lives got tossed into a storm. Now they have wolf-like super powers --- and no answers to their unending questions and worries. But as long as they stick together, the Virals figure they can survive, and even have a bit of fun with their new abilities along the way.
And then comes the devastating news --- the funding for the research facility is slashed, and their parents will lose their jobs. Desperate to find work, they must search the country and world for new employment, which will split up the Virals just when they need each other the most. It seems hopeless, but the Virals refuse to give up without a fight. Maybe if they can find a huge sum of money, they will be able to save the research facility and stay together.
After searching for any and all money-making schemes, the Virals are desperate for ideas. Tory sniffs out a possible solution. She hears of a famous female pirate from the 1700s named Anne Bonny, who supposedly buried a treasure that has never been found. It’s a long shot, a desperate attempt with little hope of success, but it’s all they have --- the Virals are going hunting for long-lost pirate treasure.
Then they discover that someone is following them, even shooting at them, and the stakes are raised. Tory delves deeper into her powers for any help she can get, discovering she can actually smell others’ emotions and even communicate telepathically with the other Virals. Their search leads them from museums to insane asylums to ancient dungeons to hidden tunnels beneath the city of Charleston, following a string of