A hospital CEO is contacted in the middle of the night with a dire warning. Hackers have taken control of computer systems used for patient care, CT scans, and lab work.

The hacker wants money. Rather than pay the ransom, the hospital CEO enlists several experts to try to break back into the system. It fails.

Time is wasted, and the CEO has a choice. He could pay the ransom, about $17,000. Or he could put in danger hundreds of patients whose medical records and testing are now inaccessible, blinding doctors and nurses to patient history, medicine dosages, and other information critical to care.