Plague in the streets! A city in the throes of chaos! Gotham's wealthiest citizens locked in a luxury ghetto, willing to pay any price for a cure. A band of heroes desperate for a solution...

This is the world the Dark Knight must face in this new printing of the volume collecting the shocking storyline that led the way to BATMAN: CATACLYSM and ultimately BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND. Featuring the talents of writers Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Dennis O'Neil, Doug Moench, and Christopher Priest, with artists Barry Kitson, Mike Wieringo, Matt Haley, Jim Balent, Tommy Lee Edwards, Kelley Jones, Graham Nolan, Vince Giarrano, Dick Giordano, Frank Fosco, and others, with a new cover by Rodolfo Damaggio and Bill Sienkiewicz. This volume reprints AZRAEL #15-16, BATMAN #529, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #48-49, BATMAN CHRONICLES #4, CATWOMAN #31-32, DETECTIVE COMICS #695-696, and ROBIN #27-28.

A mysterious and lethal virus is unleashed on the unknowing inhabitants of Gotham City, causing excruciating pain — and ultimately, death — within 48 hours of contact. Batman, Robin and Nightwing must race to contain the chaos while finding a cure — with the help of unlikely allies Azrael, Huntress, Catwoman and Poison Ivy.

But can the Dark Knight and his crew stop an invisible enemy? And what happens when one of them is infected?