In an isolated castle in the French countryside, Dr. Génessier, a brilliant yet disturbed surgeon, lives with his daughter Christiane, who leads a hidden life behind a mask, a victim of a terrible traffic accident that disfigured her face. Devastated by the idea of having ruined his daughter's life, Dr. Génessier becomes obsessed with the idea of restoring her beauty, regardless of the cost. To achieve this, he decides to conduct extreme experiments, using the faces of attractive young women whom he kidnaps.
Accompanied by Louise, his loyal yet uneasy assistant, the doctor carries out a series of harrowing operations, hoping that one day he will find the perfect face for Christiane. However, the cruel reality of his actions begins to wreak havoc on his daughter's mind, as she feels trapped in a world of suffering and despair. As the horror unfolds, Christiane's internal struggle leads her to question her relationship with her father and her own identity.
With an enveloping atmosphere and a captivating visual style, this masterpiece of psychological horror challenges the boundaries of the grotesque and the human. In his attempt to reconstruct beauty, he neglects the deeper and darker aspects of the human soul, leading to a chilling culmination that will reveal the true consequences of obsession and desperation.