Devout Christians Töre and Märeta (Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg) send their only daughter, the virginal Karin (Birgritta Pettersson), and their foster daughter, the unrepentant Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), to deliver candles to a distant church. On their way through the woods, the girls encounter a group of savage goat herders who brutally rape and murder Karin as Ingeri remains hidden. When the killers unwittingly seek refuge in the farmhouse of Töre and Märeta, Töre plots a fitting revenge.