As a nameless Czech everyman (Petr Cepek) exits a subway station, a stranger hands him a map that ultimately draws the man to his doom. The diagram leads to a nightmarish theater where he takes on the mantle of Faust. There, he unwittingly summons Mephistopheles and loses his soul in the bargain. Director Jan Svankmajer's imaginative film employs stop-motion animation, special effects, Claymation and live action to achieve a surrealistic effect.