After a series of grave robberies in the 1920's goes unsolved until reporter Michael Jacobs follows a new thread. He gets too close to the truth and becomes part of the story he is looking to write. At the same time, wealthy businessman Edmund Creighton organizes a group of equally wealthy families and individuals in the Chicago area to finance illegal experiments in the basement of his mansion. These experiments require the presence of recently dead bodies. By the time these dark secrets are uncovered, it may be too late for the truth to make any difference.