After frequently feeding a feral rat that had risen from the sewer and began living in a hole in the wall of his closet, Winston Willows discovered that his friendship with the rodent was not the best of ideas. Living in poverty in a rundown hotel, Winston eventually runs out of food resources to feed his pet, which he had named, Bartholomew, so, to Winston's horror, the rat compensates by directing his appetite solely toward the consumption of human flesh.