An actress, urged by her detective boyfriend, takes a job as housekeeper for a wealthy elderly woman. The woman's new young husband claims she's ill and refuses entry, raising suspicions about her whereabouts.

A doctor in 1890 England, in order to cure his wife's "sick mind," injects her with snake venom. She later gives birth to a daughter whom the villagers call "The Devil's Baby" and in a fit of fear they end up burning the family's house down. Years later a Scotland Yard detective is sent to the village to investigate a rash of deaths that are caused by snakebite.