Edward, a student in the hospital’s laboratory, breaks one of the rules; he steals one of the lab rats and takes it home in its little cage. On the tram, a girl sits beside him and asks what he has in his cage.

His study is a struggle, and he feels lost in the city. Unable to direct his love to anyone, he spends time with the rat and the girl who regularly visits the hospital. He wants to know more about her. Is someone she knows a patient in the hospital, or is she a patient herself? And if she isn’t a patient, who is she visiting and why so often? And why is she suddenly standing at his door?

Jan van Mersbergen spins a delicately woven web around Edward. With a subtle and suggestive style, he unfolds the lives of the sensitive young man and the girl, who are both looking for something. But maybe they are not looking for the same thing?

'The Rat in Heaven is a modern classic.’ – De Standaard