Fredrick Stanley ponders the philosophical issues of the day, he tackles ethical quandaries, and he is a gastronome. He is also a cockroach.

Fredrick Stanley Cockroach has the perfect life. He resides in comfort in the apartment of the venerable Ms. Betty Marie McGee. He eavesdrops on her conversations to learn about the complexities of life and the choices and opinions that bombard modern humanity. And together with his friends, he endlessly debates the philosophical issues of the day, as well as the reigning cockroach gastronomic question—fingernail clippings or toenail clippings? Then in a harrowing instant (which involves a flying potato and a foreboding proclamation), his world turns upside down, sending Fredrick Stanley on a mission to understand exactly what threatens the existence of the people who provide him with food, shelter, and enlightenment.