Dominican friar Etienne de Bourbon visits a 13th-century French village in search of heretics for the Inquisition. Despite the opposition of the local priest and the indifference of the villagers, he finds a seemingly perfect suspect: a young woman who lives in a forest outside the village and cures people with herbs and folk remedies. In the process, he discovers the cult of the greyhound "Saint" Guinefort, and confronts his own troubled past.

There is a tragic history behind the painting titled The Shaman Sorceress, left in the home by a mute girl and her father. With husband and daughter by her side, Mohwa devoted her life to practicing shamanistic rites. She is rejoined by her long-estranged son, who turns out to be a converted Christian. The ensuing religious conflict between the two grows more and more intense until a tragedy strikes.