Jasieński's 'I Burn Paris' upset the French authorities enough to have him expelled from the country on the novel's publication. The story concerns a plague that breaks out in Paris, exposing the worst tendencies of the city's inhabitants. As the death toll rises, groups begin to isolate themselves according to ethnicity, nationality and ideology. In today's political climate, the book is perhaps more relevant than ever and serves as a stark warning about the perils of isolationism.