When college student Jeffrey Beaumont returns to his hometown after his father suffers a stroke, he discovers a severed human ear in a field. This bizarre discovery draws him into a disturbing underworld hidden beneath the town’s peaceful surface.

Jeffrey’s investigation leads him to nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens, who is being terrorized and abused by the violent and psychotic criminal Frank Booth. As Jeffrey becomes more entangled, he experiences a loss of innocence and comes face-to-face with human depravity.