Partially based on the true events surrounding a rural religious cult in the American Midwest, and how the members' children suffered for their parents' fanaticism.

19 year old Isaac King returns from the Korean war to become frustrated and discouraged by his village's blind acceptance of the Brethren's strict doctrines. He falls in love with Jessica Ray Jacobs, a 15 year old who is promised in marriage to Isaac's father Frank, a devout town leader. Rebelling against Short Creek's code, the youngsters plan to run away, but an invasion by Arizona state troops alters their course of love forever....