ague begins with Dr. Rieux making home-visits to patients. He assists one acquaintance, a bland clerk named Grand, in helping rescue a man attempting suicide, Cottard. Simultaneously he becomes aware that the rats of Oran are simply walking out into view and dying. This odd occurrence grows in frequency, until thousands die daily. Then Dr. Rieux begins to notice that several people in Oran are beginning to exhibit odd symptoms of fever, a mortal fever. Like a detective, he deducts the classic conclusion: rat-borne bubonic plague has infected the citizens of Oran. He joins with other doctors in trying to persuade a reluctant city government to take action. Only when the death toll climbs to dozens daily does the government take the only action available: the city is put into quarantine - no one may leave or enter Oran until the plague is officially declared over.
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