A mentally unstable perfumer's apprentice in 18th-century France becomes dangerously obsessed with his work and strangles a woman to death on impulse, marking the start of a grisly killing spree with the aim of preserving the scent of his victims' bodies to create a unique perfume. Period thriller, starring Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood, with John Hurt as narrator.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.