In London, a sculptor of wax figures for a museum is horrified when his employer proposes setting fire to the unpopular museum in order to collect the insurance money. As the wax figures melt amid the blaze, the two men have a fight. After knocking out the sculptor, the owner leaves him to "perish" among the flames. Thirteen years later, the sculptor resurfaces in New York City for the launch of his own wax museum. The opening coincides with the sudden disappearance of some dead bodies from the city morgue. A determined reporter begins to suspect the deranged museum owner of stealing the corpses and using them for the wax figures in his exhibits.