Dinaric Alps, Bosnia region of Austrian Hungarian Empire, 1918. Four Allied soldiers stumble across a biological weapon that could wreak devastation on the world - and take a vow to keep if from falling into the wrong hands. Ever since, the deadly substance, code-named Kestrel, had been guarded by the descendents of those four brave men - each with the mission of keeping its existence a secret.
Skips around a bit but finishes OK.