Poor Josiah. Poor, filthy, illiterate Josiah Mench. Not even Liam, the closest thing he has to a friend, can stand to be near him. But for these two, friendship of any kind becomes a matter of survival when pandemic tears the world to pieces. Now, the survivors--children here and there, untouched by the plague--must hang together or die.  Catastropolis is a book of endings. When a single generation is lost, the structures of society fail--utterly, maybe forever. But there are beginnings too, visions of what life in a new future might hold for those willing to fight for it. It is here in this new, primitive age that Josiah finds his voice, and a new people find a prophet to lead them out of the wilderness. But it is also here that heaven and hell will contend for them first.