Jack London's dystopian vision of the future. Sixty years after Great Red Death, a scarlet plague, wipes out mankind, a handful of survivors have established their own civilization. In this savage world, art, science, and learning have all been lost, and the young descendants know nothing of the world that was. An old man is the only one who can convey the wonders of that bygone era, and the horrors of the plague that brought about its end. What future lies in store for the remnants of mankind can only be surmised, and the deadly virus, which kills in a matter of minutes, remains a terrifying prophecy of the perils of globalization and the damage humans wreak on their environment. -- Publisher description