Bumblescratch is told from the perspective of a demented, lascivious plague rat named Melbourne Bumblescratch, who demonstrates his unique and twisted love affair with the ancient city through telling his marvelously gruesome tales.

Bumblescratch opens with “Melbourne” befriending a guileless young rodent named “Perry”, and in so doing, revisiting his own lost innocence. Through this friendship, Melbourne is inspired to become a better version of himself, foregoing some of his more negative personality traits.

But to accomplish this, Melbourne must first elicit the help of a less-than-saintly guardian angel, the ghost of a rat pirate named “Hookbeard”. Together, they escape the lengthy claws of the vicious King Rat, “Socrates”, and Melbourne eventually even does right by his long suffering fiancé, “Bethesda”.

Melbourne must utilise every trick he knows (including some impressive sleight-of-hand) to get himself out of the desperate scenario in which the malevolent Socrates has put him: having to steal King Charles II’s Crown Jewel. In the end, Melbourne finds a middle path between righteous living and the distorted course of his prior existence. However, as fate would have it, the plague rat may have to burn down London in the bargain… It’s this final act that assures Melbourne’s place in the dark tapestry of city legend.