London, 1827. A body has washed up on the banks of the Thames. Inspector John Marlott of the River Police discovers that the body is composite of body parts from several people, sewn together. The Home Secretary tasks Marlott with solving the mystery.
John Marlott, a talented investigator who discovers what at first glance appears to be the body of a dead child, but on further examination proves to be a crude assembly of body parts arranged in a grotesque parody of a human form.