Believe it or not, serial killer/cannibal Hanibal Lecter was once a little boy. During WWII, the young maniac (Gaspard Ulliel) evades both the Nazi war machine and the Soviet menace to grow up relatively peacefully in France with an aunt (Lady Murasaki). But after a chance meeting with some former war criminals, Hannibal begins to develop the darker side of his personality — the much, much darker side.