Chronicles the Great Plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the fourteenth century, documenting the experiences of people who lived during its height while describing the decline of moral boundaries that also marked the period.

Oimmeddam -- "They are monsters, not men" -- The day before the day of the dead -- Sicilian autumn -- Villani's last sentence -- The curse of the grand master -- The new galenism -- "Days of death without sorrow" -- Heads to the west, feet to the east -- God's first love -- "O ye of little faith" -- "Only the end of the beginning" -- The plague deniers.