Ingmar Bergmans The Serpents Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg an outofwork American circus acrobat living in povertystricken Berlin following Germanys defeat in World War I When his brother commits suicide Abel seeks refuge in the apartment of an old acquaintance Professor Veregus Desperate to make ends meet in the warravaged city Abel takes a job in Veregus clinic where he discovers the horrific truth behind the work of the strangely beneficent professor and unlocks the chilling mystery that drove his brother to kill himself