During the 1880s in Ireland, the Catholic Church and its teachings exerted a profound influence on daily life. Ten-year-old Amelia, an orphan from a Catholic monastery, is whisked away to England by the affluent young professor, Mr. Selambs. Accustomed only to the harsh disciplines and cruelties of her previous life, Amelia enters what seems to be a fairy-tale home. Yet, it doesn`t take long before she discovers the dark undercurrents of Mr. Selambs`s sinister manipulations and sadistic tendencies, initiating a period of distress and suffering far surpassing her previous trials.