Plague is an apt metaphor to describe much of the gratuitous evil in our world. Even minimal knowledge of contemporary events reveals a variety of plagues in our midst: economic, social, political, and psychological conditions destructive of our personal lives. Alan Mermann sets out to study the various ways by which we respond to the appearance of plague in our communities. Using plague both as reality and metaphor, he looks at the role of faith in guiding and sustaining us toward ethical responses. He documents and discusses the responses that we make by using a variety of literary sources.