Seven years have passed since Agent Clarice Starling interviewed Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and seven years after he escaped from custody. Lecter is now at large in Europe. But Starling has never forgotten her encounters with Dr. Lecter -- his seldom-used voice still haunts her dreams. Mason Verger remembers Dr. Lecter, too, and is obsessed with revenge. Verger was Dr. Lecter's sixth victim, and although hideously disfigured, has survived. Verger uses Clarice Starling as bait to trap Lector.