In a relatively short amount of time, China has become the second largest economy in the world and is soon poised to overtake the US. But the country's rapid growth was achieved on the backs and shoulders of its workforce. Now, a million of them and their descendants live underground in Beijing under inhuman conditions, where there is no light or water and little sanitation. In The Rat People, Saint-Paul brings their individual stories to life, creating a shocking cautionary tale about the lengths to which people will go in search of a better life, and the human cost paid in service to the modern economy.