France, 1573. A number of children have been abducted and eaten by what local villagers believe is a Werewolf. Gilles Garnier, a local hermit, is caught red handed with a murdered child and put on trial. But no one is willing to step forth to act as his defense attorney before the dreaded "Witch Hunter Judge", Henri Bouget. No one that is except a 26 year old nun from Paris called Sister Marie Arquette. Sister Marie's task is to prove that, though the man is obviously insane, he is not a werewolf, and certainly doesn't deserve to be burned alive at the stake.