As full-time grave-robbers, William Burke (George Rose) and William Hare (Donald Pleasence) work tirelessly to supply eccentric university professor Dr. Robert Knox (Peter Cushing) with cadavers for his anatomy classes. But when supply starts running desperately short of demand, they'll have to get creative to fill the doctor's orders. Based on actual events, this creepy story details how two small-time crooks became murderers.