Geeky but unimaginative IT worker Darren inherits a mysterious sealed metal jar from a distant wealthy relative. Hoping for coins, property deeds or a work of art, Darren is disappointed and not a little grossed out to find that the jar contains a human brain, floating intact in a strange preservative fluid.

Some research reveals that the brain and jar belonged to an even more distant relative, one Dr. Heinrich Hunsecker, an eccentric 18th century scientist, surgeon and inventor. To the dismay of his long-suffering girlfriend Jane, Darren decides to keep the brain-jar, as it's ""cooler than a lava lamp"". But Dr. Hunsecker's brain turns out to be more sinister than either Jane or Darren could imagine.