Athanase Pernath is a gem cutter in the Prague ghetto. In spite of himself, he becomes embroiled in the lives of his neighbors. Family feuds, swindles, jealousies and revenge lead Pernath to prison, while the threat of the Golem, a monster created by a rabbi and awakening every thirty-three years, hangs over the city.

Deux hommes échangent leur chapeau par erreur et l'un d'entre eux rêve, le soir même, d'une autre époque: tous les trente-trois ans, une immense créature appelée le Golem se réveille sur le ghetto de Prague.