Lawyer Gabriel Utterson has heard of an ambiguous, solitary, and violent man called Edward Hyde who is said to have trampled a young girl in the streets of London. Utterson becomes concerned when a friend of his, Dr. Henry Jekyll, makes a will declaring that in the event of his death or disappearance, Hyde should inherit all his property. When Hyde is seen murdering a respected political figure, Jekyll becomes increasingly reclusive, which leads Utterson to suspect that there is more than a casual connection between his friend and this brutal monster of a man.