The story involves the power struggles and sexual intrigues of a group of good-looking nuns at the Sant Arcangelo Convent and in particular the machinations of Sister Julia (played by former Miss Great Britain Anne Heywood) as she attempts, by any means possible, to succeed to the position of the dying Mother Superior. The nuns struggle with their vows of celibacy, some inclining to lesbianism whilst others invite male lovers secretly into their cells. Meanwhile, a corrupt church hopes to benefit from an aristocratic donation to the Convent, before launching an inquisition into the lubricious and corrupt activities of the inmates of the Convent. There then follow graphic scenes of torture as miscreant nuns are stripped naked and tortured with a variety of devices in order to elicit a confession of their misdemanours. The film ends with a resonant condemnation of the power hungry and corrupt church by Sister Julia after she has been found guilty and compelled to take poison to end her life.