In 1993, teenager Cameron Post is secretly involved in a romantic
same-sex relationship with her girlfriend, Coley Taylor. On homecoming night, Cameron's boyfriend, Jamie Lowry, comes upon the girls having sex in Coley's car, and apparently ultimately
outs them both. Cameron is raised by her aunt Ruth, who is a devout
Christian, who sends her to God's Promise. It is a gay
conversion therapy center for teenagers, who are called
disciples there. It is run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother
Reverend Rick, who claims that his sister's methods cured him of his own
homosexuality; two members of his church had 'rescued' him from a
gay bar. Cameron's roommate, Erin, is downplaying her homosexuality and earnestly believes in the camp's program. Cameron befriends two fellow disciples, Jane Fonda, who was raised in a
hippie commune, and Adam Red Eagle, a
Lakota two-spirit youth whose father has converted to
Christianity and believes Adam should be cured. The three teenagers bond over their mutual rebelliousness and skepticism of the camp's purpose. During a group session, Cameron says that she thinks Coley is perfect. Dr. Marsh says that the girl's homosexuality comes from a misplaced desire to be like Coley. Cameron covertly phones her during a restaurant visit and apologizes for how things turned out. Coley says she sent Cameron a letter, but the call was interrupted. After disrupting a kitchen chore session, Cameron has her mail privileges unexpectedly granted by Dr. Marsh. Coley reads Coley's letter, learning that she blames her for seducing her and that she outed Cameron. Jane reads the letter with Cameron and destroys it, calling Coley weak-willed and treacherous. Crying, she calls Ruth and begs her to be brought home. She turns her down, saying she is doing this because she loves her. Cameron tries to adapt better to the center routine, exercising with Erin to Christian workout tapes. One night, while Cameron is having a sexual dream, Erin wakes her up, and both girls kiss. Erin helps Cameron have an
orgasm, but then regrets it, asking her not to tell anyone because she wants to change. Mark, a disciple who had been expecting to return home shortly, is informed by letter that he must remain at the camp because his father still considers him
effeminate. In a group session, he recites a passage from
2 Corinthians 12. Mark begins to break down, shouting, "When I am weak, I am strong!" until he is forcibly restrained by Dr. Marsh. That night, Cameron sees large quantities of blood in one of the bathrooms. The next morning, Dr. Marsh and Reverend Rick call a meeting, saying that Mark was badly injured during the night, however is stable in a hospital. They do not explain what happened. After two of the disciples disrupt the group meeting, the adults hold a series of one-to-one meetings instead. During their meeting, Rick tells Cameron that Mark
mutilated his own genitals and nearly died before Adam found him. She asks why the staff was not monitoring Mark more closely, then she asks him if he and Dr. Marsh have any idea what they are doing. Rick does not answer and bursts into tears. A government inquiry is launched into Mark's self-mutilation, but the investigator is unwilling to accept Cameron's assertion that God's Promise is inherently emotionally abusive. Disillusioned, Cameron, Jane, and Adam run away from the camp under the cover of an early morning hike. They walk to a nearby road and hitchhike away. ==Cast==