Ambrosio is the most virtuous and strict monk in the whole city; when he

discovers that a young nun named Agnes has gotten pregnant despite her vows,

he turns her over to the cruel Prioress with no regrets. His lack of sympathy

comes to haunt him, however, when a young monk named Rosario is revealed to

be the beautiful Matilda, a woman who has come to the monastery out of love for

Ambrosio. The monk struggles with his desires, but eventually succumbs to

temptation and breaks his vows of chastity by having sex with Matilda.

Lorenzo is stunned to discover that Raymond is the lover of Agnes, Lorenzo's

sister and a nun. Raymond explains that he and Agnes fell in love over the

course of Raymond's dramatic journey through Europe, an odyssey that involved

sly bandits, vengeful aunts, and frightening ghosts. Agnes's parents vowed her to

a convent, but she and Raymond met nightly to declare their love for each other.

Raymond impregnated Agnes during one of these nightly visits, and now he vows

that he will rescue her and make her his wife. Lorenzo decides to assist his friend

and his sister, and the two men attempt to rescue Agnes from the convent.

However, the Prioress tells the men that Agnes has died from a mysterious

illness.