At St. John's Orphanage in 1882, children, including a young Albert Fish, are being paddled as punishment for their sins. Albert Fish as an adult (Patrick Bauchau) then tells an anecdote of a horse that some older boys at the orphanage set on fire, comparing himself to the horse. He regularly whips himself with a belt while hallucinating himself as he appeared in the orphanage. Fish kills a boy scout, Francis McDonnell, before visiting the Budd family home, where he abducts and murders ten-year-old Grace Budd (Lexi Ainsworth) on June 3, 1928 under the pretense of taking her to his niece's birthday party. Throughout the film is a film noir-style narration by Detective William King (Jack Conley (actor)), of the Missing Persons Bureau. King searches for Grace Budd for six years, before finally tracking down and arresting Fish. Fish is found guilty despite evidence of his insanity, and promptly sentenced to die in the electric chair.