Romance, rape, tension, repression and death: these are the quintessential themes explored in this dialogue-free Japanese black-and-white movie. A Buddhist priest rescues a homeless girl and brings her into his temple's household. Soon she becomes an essential part of the place. One night she is raped by a young man who then becomes her lover. The priest happens on them one night as they make love before the temple shrine, and he becomes erotically obsessed.