Sweeney Todd's is a barber shop on Fleet Street in London. When a customer sees an unusual picture on the wall of the man named Sweeney Todd, the current proprietor tells the customer of the origin of the shop's name. A century earlier, Sweeney Todd was the original owner of the shop. He was a greedy and stingy man, who hired orphans as his apprentices, whose lives and money (even tips) he controlled. Todd wanted to raise his stature in the world by investing money in Oakley Shipping. The company's owner, Stephen Oakley, was building a new ship and welcomed the investment. But Todd was equally as interested in Oakley's daughter, Johanna, a young woman half his age. Johanna in turn was in love with Mark Ingerstreet, a poor seaman of who Oakley did not approve because of his social status. Todd earned most of his money by killing his wealthy, unattached customers. He rigged his barber chair to send whoever sitting in it head first into the dungeon. Todd's partner in crime was Mrs. Lovatt, who ran the meat pie shop next door, she who was responsible for disposing of the bodies in a way that her customers would not want to know. When Mark returned from one of his voyages a wealthy man, Todd figured that killing Mark would benefit him in two ways: he could steal Mark's riches and get rid of his rival for Johanna's affections. But Todd may have chosen the wrong person to kill as Mrs. Lovatt, Parsons (Todd's fence) and Tobias Rag (Todd's latest apprentice), each who knew of Todd's crimes, had reason either to take a larger cut or turn him in.
—Huggo