In the midst of England’s Great Plague in 1665, a young widow named Grace Haverstock is plunged into despair when her husband Joseph succumbs to the disease and commits suicide, leaving her alone with their infant daughter. In a haunting opening, Grace is forced to retrieve his corpse from the gallows and bury him under the torrential rain as memories of their once peaceful life flash through her mind. This tragic moment sets the tone for the chilling journey that follows .

Separated from security and fueled by grief, Grace faces a brutal reality: her landlord, the Squire, uses her vulnerability to coerce sexual favors in exchange for protection, and upon her refusal, he seizes the opportunity to label her a witch. His accusation triggers a community steeped in paranoia and misogyny to act against her with frightening speed .

Grace is seized and subjected to a nightmarish trial orchestrated by the notorious witch finder John Moorcroft and his assistant Ursula. Her ordeal becomes a grim tableau of institutionalized misogyny, cloaked under the guise of divine justice—Grace endures physical torment, psychological manipulation, and invasive humiliations, all while steadfastly asserting her innocence. The film portrays her persecutors as faceless, malicious forces, emblematic of centuries-old oppression

Amid the suffering, the film offers moments of resistance. Grace’s friend Kate finds herself under attack by her own husband, but she fights back fiercely—she defends herself, and in a dramatic turn, the cart’s runaway horse causes a wheel to fatally wound him. These interludes underscore that female strength can emerge even in the cruellest circumstances .

As Grace faces the threat of burning, she and the Squire’s servant Edwin orchestrate a daring plan: his blood is mixed into Moorcroft’s drink during a forced confession scene, allowing Grace to bid for mercy in exchange for her daughter’s life. The tension peaks as the infant Abi’s fate hangs in the balance—Grace negotiates, showing a mixture of cunning and maternal desperation .

The conclusion devolves into an act of fiery revenge as Moorcroft is set ablaze in the Squire’s castle. At the same time, the audience breathes a sigh of relief when Abi is revealed to have survived the ordeal. Through her survival, the film anchors its relentless descent into brutality with a note of resilience and hope .