The Morgan Street Rats used to live in heaven – well, that's what it seemed like at the time. They lived in an attic above a gloriously filthy restaurant where they gorged themselves each night on the scraps that the lazy chef had left around and licked the dirty plates. All was well until the restaurant was closed down and the new owner had different standards and a cat called Snarl. Pa, Ma and the six baby rats determined that they would leave for somewhere warmer as soon as the babies were old enough to move. Pa dreamed of the tropics where there are warm sleepy lagoons, full of rotting vegetables. There is a delicious steamy heat, heavy with ripe smells. Fruit falls from the trees and rots on the ground. And one day they started their journey. Well, they didn't really have much choice when the entire family fell out of the attic into a snowdrift. Geography is not Pa's strongest point and it was perhaps a little unfortunate that he picked a boat that was heading for Murmansk. Even more unfortunate was the fact that it was an old rust bucket that wasn't destined to stay afloat for very long and that was the first of the sinking ships on which Hero, one of the young rats, was to sail. -- Publisher details.