Grete Minde, based on the novel by Theodor Fontane, tells the story of a girl trapped in the turbulent religious and social prejudices of 17th-century Sweden. Born of a noble Lutheran father and his second wife, a Spanish Catholic, Grete is barely tolerated by her anti-Catholic older half-brother as long as her father is living; when her father dies, she flees to the home of an uncle with the help of a local boy who has grown accustomed to protecting her. Later, unwed and pregnant, she must flee again. She returns to her home town, but is tragically ill-received.