: The plague captures the Spanish city of Cadiz and establishes its order in it. Only those who overcome the fear of the Plague will free people.

“State of siege" is a three-part view. In the preface, the author points to his supposedly co-author Jean-Louis Barrot, who owns the idea of ​​the plague myth play. Camus also claims that “this is not a play with a traditional structure, but a performance where it is intentionally taken as the principle of mixing all dramatic forms of expression - from a lyrical monologue to mass scenes, including pantomime, ordinary dialogue, farce and choir.”

The first part begins with an alarming sign: a comet flew over the Spanish city of Cadiz. What does this sign mean? Someone is sure that war is coming soon, someone considers a comet a harbinger of heat. However, many believe that clouds are gathering over Cadiz, the trouble is close. Nada, a wandering drunkard, claims that "our business has been bad for a long time," and soon it will be even worse. “When people begin to ruin everything around, including each other, it turns out that the Lord God, who is also a master in this part, is just a child compared to them.”

Diego, the young doctor, no matter what the comet warns about, the main thing is not to coward. He loves the daughter of Judge Victoria, is going to marry her. Meanwhile, the governor decides to pretend that nothing happened, because "a good governor is such a governor in whose rule nothing happens", and even the slightest mention of a cosmic sign is forbidden to the townspeople. Nada sharply observes that a lie is "this is not stupidity, this is politics." And life is boiling in the market square, someone is praising their goods, recalling the morning comet, someone is inadvertently recalling a sign in a conversation, and the lovers Diego and Victoria coo. But suddenly someone in the crowd suddenly falls to the ground. Having examined the patient, Diego with considerable effort utters out a disappointing diagnosis for the whole city - the plague.

In the palace of the judge, the governor is informed of the growth of the epidemic, he is upset that this happened just when he was going to hunt. At the same time, people confess in the church, atone for sins. Diego, not sparing himself, helps the sick. Victoria wants to see him, but he is full of fear of illness, of death.

A man and a woman in military uniform appear on the scene. This is the Plague, which drives the government and seizes power over Cadiz, and its Secretary, who crosses out the names of people from her notebook, thereby killing them. New orders are being established in the city: marking houses and people with black stars of the plague, products are delivered only to people “useful” to the city, denunciations are made for the sick and infected, men and women should live separately, and finally, everyone should keep a gag in their mouths. “Who cares, the Plague or the Governor? The state is the state, ”says Nada.

So, the city is closing, nowhere to run. The first part of the play ends with the Plague monologue, where he declares that, reigning, he will bring order and teach the inhabitants of the city to "die in an organized manner," "in an administrative order."

The plague gives orders, people continue to die, the Secretary keeps records. An ordinary fisherman now needs to receive a certificate of existence, which cannot be obtained without a health certificate, which cannot be obtained without a first certificate. People get stuck in bureaucracy, in meaningless papers, where everything becomes official right up to the motives of marriage and the reasons for existence.

The inhabitants of Cadiz do not understand anything. “The less they [the people] will understand, the better they will obey” - the credo of the new government. They send the hell out of husbands, salaries are low, requisition at home - there is a complete mess in the city, called a system organization.The drunk Nada, whose name means Nothing, joins the administration of the Plague and the Secretary. “One good plague is better than two democracies.” But Diego is a proponent of prudence, for which the Plague rewards him with symptoms of the plague. Filled with fear and despair, he bursts into the judge’s house. He immediately wants to turn him in, as he serves the law. “And if the law is criminal?” “If a crime becomes law, it ceases to be a crime.” In order to stop the Judge, Diego threatens to infect his youngest son, who, like the Judge (this is a child from his wife’s infidelity), is hated by his sister. Diego is ashamed that all of them, like himself, have become soulless, and he is fleeing.

Meanwhile, Nada and Judge are discussing the election of a new government, that is, the Plague, which will win unconditionally, since all ballots with votes against are canceled. “But you said that the elections are free?” “They are free ... You still had a misconception about freedom.” But Diego and Victoria are confused: he is confused, does not understand anything, she loves him madly, is even ready to die in his arms. He hugs her, wanting to infect, he does not want others to enjoy the beauty of his beloved after his death, but she does not have symptoms of the plague. She embraces him boldly. He is scared and runs away.

On the seashore, Diego meets a boatman who carries food to people fleeing the epidemic on the island. Diego wants to run away, but the Secretary comes out of nowhere. His fear does not allow him to complete his plan. The secretary “crosses out” the boatman, a dying scream is heard from the boat. Diego openly despises the Secretary, he is nice to her, but for a young man her hatred is better than her smiles. She talks about her craft, quite tedious. Diego boils, he promises a quick end to the new government. This power only wants to “kill to end the murder, resort to violence in order to establish justice.” Furious, he slaps the Secretary. The signs of plague on Diego's body disappear. There is one flaw in the mechanism of this power - it is enough for a person to overcome fear, to rebel, and then the “machine will creak”. Diego forgets about fear. The sky is clearing.

Part Three describes the rebellion of Diego and the citizens of Cadiz. Now Diego leads the buildings, sets up people to rebel, freeing them from fear. But people hesitate. When the Plague orders Diego to be struck out, the Secretary replies that she is powerless, because he has ceased to be afraid. People take out gags. They tear out a notebook from the Secretary. The Judge’s daughter crosses out someone’s name, and in the judge’s house the sound of a person falling to the floor is heard. The crowd takes the notebook from the scum and crosses it out. Then they want to purge and cross out several unworthy people. Plague: “Well! They do our work themselves! ” Diego rips a notebook to shreds.

But the Plague has another way of influencing Diego. Victoria is writhing in agony on a stretcher. The plague offers the guy a deal: if Diego agrees to retreat and give the city, then the disease will not touch him, nor his beloved. But Diego stands his ground. He agrees to give his life for the lives of all the inhabitants of the city and his beloved. And then the Plague says that the guy passed the last test. "The only thing worth being true to is your contempt." If the young man agreed to give the city to Plague, he would die with his beloved. And now the city has every chance to find freedom. "One madman like you is enough ...". But the madman perishes. On the body of Diego there are terrible signs of plague. The secretary is transformed into an old woman, death. She cannot pick up Diego right away; she is not comfortable. Before the plague, she was free and random, no one despised her, but now she is obliged to serve logic and charter. She fell in love with Diego because he felt sorry for her in his own way.

The plague is leaving. In his farewell monologue, he claims that God is an anarchist, that he himself chose a method of suppression, which is more serious than in hell."The ideal is to get as many slaves as possible with the help of a minimum of correctly selected dead." “By destroying or breaking the right number of people, we will bring whole nations to their knees.” But Death is sure that one can triumph over everything except pride. No matter how stubborn the plague is, human love is still stubborn. Victoria recovers right there, but Diego prostrates himself. Victoria wants to die with him, but this world needs her. She is sure - it would be better if he continued to be afraid. Diego is dying.

The former government is returning. But instead of mourning the dead, they reward each other with orders, arrange ceremonies. The gates of the city open. Strong wind blows. Addressing people, Nada says that "one cannot live well, feeling that a person is nothing, and God's face is terrible." Nada rushes into the sea. The play ends with the words of the Fisherman: “O water, o sea, the homeland of the rebels, these are your people, and they will never retreat. A high rampart, born of the bitterness of the waters, will forever take your cities away. ”