Time travel to 1794 Paris, where France's Reign of Terror is raging. A frightened young aristocrat enters a convent, desperate to find peace from religious persecution. But as the Mother Superior warns, she has entered a house of prayer, not an escape from reality. Based on a real-life incident, 16 Carmelite nuns - each with her own private demons - must decide if they will live in fear or die together in faith as martyrs on the guillotine.