While bacteria live within us and are essential for our health, some strains can kill us. As bacteria continue to mutate, becoming increasingly resistant to known antibiotics, Muhammad Zaman warns that we are likely to face a public health crisis of unimaginable proportions. Zaman's riveting and timely look at why and how microbes are becoming superbugs ranges from the Amazon to the isolated islands in the Arctic, and from the urban slums of Karachi to the wilderness of the Australian outback. Along the way, Zaman examines the myriad factors contributing to this unfolding health crisis, and names the culprits whose choices are pushing us closer to catastrophe.