The novel The Plague was published in 1947. It belongs to Albert Camus' cycle of "philosophy of rebellion." In the city of Oran, Algeria, the plague suddenly spreads (an allegory for Nazism). The city is sealed off, cutting it off from the outside world. The people of Oran become prisoners of the city and gradually lose their ability to perceive time. Concepts like hope (the future), memories (the past), and the perception of time become meaningless to them. People surrender to the laws of the disease...