Plot

An immortal, bigoted, unethical taxidermist is doing research on "Patient Zero", the gay flight attendant who allegedly was the first to bring AIDS to North America, for a museum show about contagious diseases, helped by the man's ghost.

The ghost of Zero - "patient zero", who allegedly first brought aids to Canada - materialises and tries to contact old friends. Meanwhile, the Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton, who drank from the Fountain of Youth and now works as Chief Taxidermist at the Toronto Natural history Museum, is trying to organise an Aids Exhibition ...—Michael Crew <m.crew@bbcnc.org.uk>

Sir Richard Burton (no relation to the British actor of the same name) is a Victorian explorer who managed to find and drink from the Fountain of Youth, resulting in him living an unusually long life without aging. Now he is living in Toronto, Canada, where he works as a taxidermist in a museum dedicated to a study of famous diseases. His latest exhibit is the "Hall of Contagion" but it seems ruined when he is unable to acquire the plague rats he considers essential. However, Richard's hopes are raised when he learns about "Patient Zero", the French Canadian flight attendant who was allegedly responsible for bringing AIDS to North America. Richard becomes fascinated with Patient Zero, envisioning him as a serial killer who deliberately infected large numbers of gay men with AIDS. Meanwhile, the ghost of Patient Zero inexplicably returns to Earth. Far from Richard's idea of him as a serial killer, Patient Zero is a confused young man unsure of what is happening. He returns home and visits old relatives, but the only person who can see him is Richard Burton. These two men become partners and eventually fall in love as, together, they learn the truth about AIDS and how its image in the media has been distorted to promote hateful ideologies.—John Hitchcock