In a film that explicitly describes itself as "a grim fairy tale" (in intertitles), Malcolm Shanks (Marceau) is a deaf (but expert lip reader), muteness puppeteer who lives with his cruel sister (Chelton) and her alcoholic husband, Mr. Barton (Clay). His skill with puppets is noticed by Mr. Walker (also Marceau) who takes him on as a lab assistant at his gothic mansion. His sister and brother-in-law make him be the breadwinner, and are outraged when he keeps $50 of his own pay. The doctor's experiments involve reanimating the dead and controlling them like puppets. He begins with a frog and a chicken. When Mr. Walker dies unexpectedly, Malcolm comes home and cradles his puppet of Mr. Walker in his arms (Shanks's puppet shows are personal projects based on his family and people in the town, and he is making one of his teenage assistant and friend, Celia, for her birthday). His family is outraged that he is not at work, and Barton smashes in the head of the puppet of Mr. Walker and insists Malcolm return to work, which he does by using the experimental procedure on Mr. Walker.
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