Alan Alton and family move into the Shropshire hills to run a smallholding. One item that they take with them is completely forgotten in the hassle, namely a crate of peaches sent by an American relative, which also happens to contain a few Pennsylvanian locusts. Joining these are more locusts which flew north into the country due to the prolonged heatwave. Soon these few reproduce into many, into huge swarms which start devouring whatever they can find, and Britain wakes up to a state of emergency.

In the first of a run of really good novels, Guy Smith shamelessly pinches the plot to a previous novel, 'Bats Out of Hell', changes the foe, researches his subject in depth and generally improves the result no end. This one really does shine, especially in comparison to 'Bats Out of Hell', which is essentially the same novel.

Here there is far more in the way of credibility, due mainly to a more carefully constructed backdrop; and the characters seem more real and three-dimensional, probably due to Smith living on, running and coping with the problems of a smallholding himself. There are many such disaster novels on the market, most pretty terrible, some surprisingly excellent. Quite a few of these latter have sprung from the prolific pen of Guy N. Smith; this is definitely one of them, and possibly the best such novel he has written. Essential for fans and really pretty vital for everyone else.