High school student Todd Bowden discovers that his elderly neighbor, Arthur Denker, is actually a fugitive Nazi war criminal named Kurt Dussander. Fascinated and blackmailing Dussander for mutual gains, Todd demands that Dussander recounts his horrific experiences during World War II. While Todd's obsession with the grim details of the atrocities grows, he forces Dussander to relive his past, drawing disturbing satisfaction from the tales of brutality. The power dynamic between the two blurs, leading them down a dark path as they become entangled in a web of moral corruption and psychological manipulation.

As Todd delves deeper, his grades start to slip and his relationships fray, illustrating the corrupting influence of his morbid curiosity. Meanwhile, Dussander, initially resistant, begins to regain a sense of his old authoritarian self, which threatens to spiral out of control. Their secret meetings seep into their everyday lives, while suspicion and tension build from various sources. The story lays the groundwork for increasingly high stakes as Todd's curiosity and Dussander's resurfaced malevolence hover on the brink of causing irrevocable damage. Here, the viewer is left to anticipate the inevitable consequences of the dangerous power play between the corrupt youth and the revived monster.