High-Rise opens with one of the most iconic, funny, and shocking lines in sci-fi history: ‘Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr. Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months.’ Within the concealing walls of an elegant forty-storey tower block, society has entered a state of collapse: the residents of the lower floors have begun to climb. Cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on ‘enemy’ floors and the once-luxurious amenities become an arena for riots and technological mayhem.