FBI agent Clarice Starling is sent to interview imprisoned killer Dr. Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter. She hopes he might reveal information about another crazed killer known only as 'Buffalo Bill' who is abducting young women, starving them, and then killing them. Lecter's brilliant mind is intrigued by the beautiful Starling, and he begins giving her mystifying clues which could be helpful or merely a game. The terror builds as 'Buffalo Bill' grabs another victim and the countdown to death begins again. Finding the madman means Starling must get inside Lecter's mind. To stop the killer, she must enter a terrifying race against death.