On a remote island in Southeast Asia, a team of scientists, studying the regenerative properties of the salamander, discovers what their Bangkok headquarters refer to as "The Priceless Gift": an elixir of life. News of the discovery travels quickly, and profiteers begin to circle the island, only to find out just how dangerous a discovery it is. During the research process, they also uncovered an unstoppable disease. When the research team goes missing, it leaves behind a warning: that the disease has spread, and is threatening to go global. Special forces and mercenaries from around the world descend on the island, making apparent that there is more at stake than just profit and ambition, but the survival of humanity.
A fat middle-aged man in German officer's uniform gets off a train somewhere in Russia in winter. He is a doctor who has just been called up we learn eventually. This is the end of the line- the Germans are about to retreat. He goes to a hospital which is being evacuated and is thrown out. Kicked out he wanders with another conscript- a failed actor turned postman. The postman is deafened by a shell explosion. They meet their Russian equivalents, others as bad at killing as they are, while other Russians and Germans kill one another around them.
