Short Night of Glass Dolls

In a Cold War-era Prague park, the body of American journalist Gregory Moore is found and transported to the local morgue. A mortician notes the corpse is unusually warm, hinting that Gregory may still be alive and complicating the investigation. Hospital technicians discuss whether to perform an autopsy, setting the mystery into motion.

As Gregory lies in the morgue, technicians debate whether to conduct an autopsy in the surgical theater. Some argue that any clue could be crucial, while others worry about meddling with evidence and potential consequences. The debate hints at a mystery deeper than a routine medical procedure.

Days earlier, Gregory reunites with his girlfriend Mira Svoboda at a high-society party of journalists and elites in Prague. The gathering showcases Mira’s beauty and influence, drawing attention from colleagues and rivals alike. The mood is festive, but underlying tensions simmer beneath the surface.

Mira vanishes at the party, leaving behind all of her personal belongings. Gregory immediately attempts to seek help, but officials remain evasive and unhelpful. Meanwhile, other guests claim they never spoke to Mira, complicating the search and sowing suspicion.

Gregory, joined by Jacques and Jessica, pushes to investigate Mira's disappearance despite threats from authorities. The group faces bureaucratic obstacles and implied hostility, framing Mira’s case as potentially dangerous and unsolved. The sense of cover-up deepens as time passes.

A body is discovered at a crime scene, and Gregory fears it may be Mira. When the authorities arrive, they clarify it is another woman, not Mira, but the close call heightens Gregory's determination. The false alarm adds urgency to his search and fuels his distrust of the system.

Gregory and Jessica visit Professor Karting, a physician Mira spoke to at the party. Karting claims Mira had told him she planned to return to Moscow, a detail that unsettles Gregory. The meeting deepens the mystery by suggesting Mira’s movements involved international implications.

Gregory spends hours at the Prague Public Library, researching newspaper archives about other missing women in the city. He begins to see a pattern that transcends Mira and hints at a larger conspiracy. The library work shifts his approach from personal grief to systemic danger.

Gregory receives a notice from an enigmatic elderly man claiming to have information about Mira. They meet at a train station, where a shadowy figure pushes the old man to his death before fleeing. Gregory then finds a matchbook reading 'Klub 99,' a clue that will lead him toward a hidden network.

Tracing Klub 99 takes Gregory to an ornate recital hall filled with antiques and butterfly collections. A threatening janitor interrupts him, and he eventually discovers Mira's dead body in a secluded room of flowers. The haunting discovery confirms a gruesome pattern and the depth of the secret society.

Jacques confesses to killing Mira and reveals that Klub 99 members practice black magic. He is killed, and Gregory is briefly questioned by police about Mira’s disappearance. The confession exposes a cultic dimension to the case that complicates any straightforward investigation.

Valinski, a Minister of the Interior, is revealed as the leader of Klub 99 and orchestrates pressure against Gregory. In his apartment, Gregory finds Mira’s body stored in a refrigerator, a chilling reminder of the cult’s reach and brutality. The confrontation marks a turning point as power and ritual collide.

Gregory flees back to Klub 99 just as an occult ritual unfolds, led by Valinski himself. The cultists unleash a spell that paralyzes him, sealing his fate as he is dumped in a park. The sequence shows how far the conspiracy reaches into the city and Gregory’s life.

In the present, Professor Karting—revealed as a high priest in Klub 99—proceeds to perform an autopsy on Gregory for his medical students. Jessica attends, hoping for closure, but Gregory summons the strength to lift his hand as a signal. Karting shuns the gesture and plunges the scalpel into Gregory’s heart, finalizing his fate as Jessica screams.