The first victim was a former paper salesman drinking himself into oblivion down by the docks. Next a child and her beloved dog, then six drifters fighting over a bottle of gin – all devoured by a black, writhing mass of giant rats.

As London descends into panicked chaos, high school teacher Harris is pulled head-first into the nightmare when a student arrives with a rat bite on his hand. And he quickly realises that this is no ordinary creature, nothing like anyone has ever seen before.

With their intelligent, wicked-looking eyes and razor-sharp teeth, the balance of power between man and rat has suddenly – shockingly, horribly – shifted.

The rats have had their first taste of human blood.

And they’re hungry for more . . .