In the grim darkness of the far future, (where there is - apparently - only war), dilapidated space-borne freightliners called "Space Hulks" drift, abandoned in deep space and almost forgotten by their original owners. But they are not empty, far from it, just like the rat-infested ghost ships of the 20th century, these 41st millennium analogues are teeming with scaly, bug-like creatures called Genestealers.