Nine months after the Joker's death, Gotham has grown quieter—but the Joker's legacy has not been contained. Before he died, he sent contaminated blood to Gotham's hospitals. Most patients were treated, but those who were not are beginning to look and act like the Joker. On Halloween night, Scarecrow releases a new strain of Fear Gas and threatens to flood all of Gotham with it. Six million people are evacuated. The criminals stay. Scarecrow's plan centers on a dispersal device called the Cloudburst; he has paired with the mysterious Arkham Knight and his massive militia to execute it. As Batman investigates, he is repeatedly exposed to the fear toxin, which reacts with the Joker's blood in his system to produce hallucinations of his greatest enemy. Barbara Gordon is taken. Commissioner Gordon breaks with Batman. Poison Ivy is recruited to counteract the toxin using a massive tree. Every alliance Batman has is under strain as the season pass campaign expands across Gotham and its history.