Mary is a young, unwed pregnant girl in Salem, a Puritanical town. She believes her love, John Alden, has died in the war, since he never wrote her letters. She must now either face the Puritans' stocks and forehead branding or sell her soul to the devil. Having done the latter, she marries George Sibley, one of the town's influential men and enslaves him, claiming his wealth and power for herself. Preacher Cotton Mather believes witches have arrived in Salem and want their own world. John returns home to witness a witch hunt, wherein Mary attempts to use the trials to get the Puritans to kill each other, allowing the witches to rule Salem.