One dark and stormy night, an escaped convict, an embezzler, a runaway daughter, her intended and her father, and a gangster take refuge in a remote inn called "The Black Raven" after the nickname of a second gangster who owns it; and murder ensues.

A seemingly charitable soup kitchen operator (who moonlights as a criminology professor) uses his Bowery mission as a front for his criminal gang. Police attempt to close in on the gang as they commit a series of robberies, murders and bizarre experiments on corpses.

After several female motorists begin disappearing en route to Twin Falls, a Hollywood screenwriter and the cousin of his bride-to-be discover that they've all been abducted by the mysterious Dr. Marlowe, who is attempting to resurrect his dead wife.