James Mistoll, one of the owners of a factory, and working on a process to turn copper ore into radium, falls from a window on the fourth floor and dies; This was no accident, but a murder. A detective sends his assistant, Barnes, to investigate and soon the number of suspects from within the company multiplies.

The mysterious Count Orlok summons Thomas Hutter to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen. After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok's servant, Knock, prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.