The film tells the story of two American tourists, Lindsay (Ashley D. Millan) and Jenny (Ashlynn Yennie), who become stranded in Germany. They seek help at a nearby house, where they meet Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser), a former surgeon who has been conducting inhumane experiments. Heiter kidnaps the two women and surgically connects them mouth-to-anus, creating a human centipede. The goal of this horrific procedure is to create a new form of human transportation, with Heiter controlling the centipede's movements through a system of pulleys and levers.