After seven months of pregnancy a husband and wife learn that their unborn child won't survive for long.

Frits Egters can't quite get a hold of himself. An intelligent and sensitive young man, repulsion and desillusion turned him cynical. According to Frits there should be more to life - he just doesn't know where to find it.

In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.