In early-17th-century England, Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews (actor)) uncovers a deformed skull with one eye and strange fur on it while ploughing a field. Ralph insists that local judge (Patrick Wymark) look at it, but the skull has vanished and the judge disregards Ralph's supernatural fears. Later, many people in the village become affected by its supernatural power, including a young woman (Tamara Ustinov) who sprouts a claw, and children who find a strange claw and then behave oddly and grow patches of fur on their bodies.