Father Andrew Compton is a village vicar with a waning faith. His 'good vicar' persona keeps him going in the job, but inside he is full of doubts. His life is thrown into turmoil when he has a dream in which God asks him to go and visit Paul McCready, a convicted paedophile. While trying to decide if this vivid dream is in fact God talking to him, or just a nightmare, he is confronted by 'The Rat', a sinister hooded youth. McCready, when Andrew meets him, is not what he seems and he gives some cryptic clues to resolve the mystery of the dream. What ensues is a battle between Andrew and 'The Rat' as the vicar tries to resolve the meaning of the dream. All the time he is confronted with unnatural forces, both good and evil. The Good Vicar becomes more of a being within Andrew than just a persona, while 'The Rat' seems to grow in strength and evilness. Who will triumph in this fight? What secret is McCready hiding? Was the dream a real message from God or just a nightmare?