Shortly before the advent of Nazism in Germany, Jewish trapeze artist Abel (David Carradine) and cabaret performer and prostitute Manuela (Liv Ullmann) seek work at a medical clinic run by Dr. Vergerus (Heinz Bennent). But their financial woes take a backseat when they make a horrific discovery. It appears that Dr. Vergerus is secretly conducting cannibalistic human experiments that foreshadow the horrors of concentration camps.