Eric lives rough in north London with Thickpea, his rat, and a ragbag assortment of the city's homeless, dispossessed and slightly smelly. Then one of their number is kidnapped, and Eric and his friends are thrown into a strange and confusing world. Who is the blond young man that keeps cropping up? How is Eric's family involved in his turmoil? And how does he know who to trust? The answers come after a series of events culminating in a deadly climax, and Eric must face some unpleasant truths.