Set in 2010, the film opens with a young woman sleeping alone in bed who wakes to find bruises and wounds on her hips and upper inner thighs—injuries sustained from rape. The women and girls of her isolated
Mennonite colony discover that the men have been using a livestock tranquilizer to subdue and rape them. The attackers are arrested and imprisoned in a nearby city. Most of the men of the colony travel to oversee the bail, leaving the women by themselves for two days to determine how they will proceed. They hold a
plebiscite to decide whether to stay and do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. The vote is tied between staying and fighting, and leaving. Eleven of the colony's women are chosen to come to a final decision and gather in a hayloft, though Scarface Janz, a woman in the "do nothing" camp, leaves the meeting after becoming disillusioned with the discussion, taking her hesitant daughter Anna and resistant granddaughter Helena with her. August, the colony's schoolteacher and one of the only remaining men, joins the women to record the meeting, as none of the women were taught to read or write. Salome, just back from a trip to gather antibiotics to treat her assaulted four-year-old daughter, remains adamant about staying and fighting, an opinion shared by Mejal. Ona, who is pregnant after being raped, also suggests that they stay and, after winning the fight, create a new set of rules for the colony that would give the women equality. Mariche, Greta's daughter and Autje's mother, disagrees, believing that forgiveness is the only viable option. To defuse the conflict, Ona suggests that August create one document stating the pros and cons of leaving, and another document with those for staying. The meeting is adjourned. During the break, it is revealed that August is from an
excommunicated family, but was recently granted permission to return and teach the boys of the colony. He and Ona were good friends in childhood, and he has had romantic feelings for her since, but she tells him she cannot marry him as she believes that she would cease to be her true self, the person he loves, if she marries. When some of the women go outside to be counted for the 2010
census, they learn that Klaas, Mariche's abusive husband, will return that evening to collect more bail money. The meeting resumes. Ona and Mejal change their minds in favor of leaving. Salome remains insistent upon fighting, angrily confessing that she would rather kill the men than put her daughter at risk any longer. However, she changes her opinion after being reminded by Agata, her and Ona's mother, of the principles of their faith. The only one remaining unconvinced is Mariche. An argument ensues between her and the rest of the women; it is revealed that she forgave her husband's abuse at Greta's urging. After Greta apologizes, Mariche agrees to leave. Their reasons for leaving are transcribed by August: to ensure the safety of their children, to be steadfast in their faith, and to have freedom of thought. They decide to try to take boys aged fifteen years and younger with them, but will not force any boy over age twelve. They prepare to leave at sunrise, concealing their plans from Klaas. August, at Ona's behest, posts the documents stating the pros and cons of leaving and staying on the walls as an "artifact" of the women's time in the colony. He also declares his love to Ona and gives her a map for the women to use. Before they can leave, Melvin (formerly Nettie), a
transgender man who is
selectively mute after an incestuous rape, speaking only to the colony's children, tells Salome that her teenage son Aaron has fled and hidden. He is found, but cannot be convinced to leave in enough time. Salome, breaking the rules the women set, sprays Aaron with tranquilizer, forcing him to leave with them. She reveals this only to August, who understands and does not question her. He asks her to look after Ona, and reveals his intent to kill himself once the women are gone. She instead asks him to teach the boys properly to prevent any further violence and to give him purpose. Helena and Anna join the rest of the women, while Janz and August watch as they depart. Sometime later, Ona's newborn baby is shown, and Autje is heard saying that it will live a life very different from the one the women endured. ==Cast==