The series revolves around the character of Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen), a brilliant and cannibalistic serial killer, who forms a complex and cat-and-mouse relationship with FBI trainee Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy). As Will, a gifted profiler, seeks to understand the mind of a killer like Hannibal, he becomes increasingly entangled in a web of intrigue, deception, and gruesome murders.