In a small and religious coastal town, a simple, devoutly religious Scottish woman, Bess McNeill (Emily Watson), finds a partner in an oil rig worker from Norway, Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgård).
However, the relationship grows strained when Nyman breaks his neck in a horrific work accident on the rig and becomes paralysed. Unable to perform sexually and suffering mentally from the accident as well, Jan convinces Bess to have sex with other men, which she comes to believe is God's work. Issues of faith, devotion, sexuality and divine intervention are at the centre of this daring and provocative piece that placed writer-director Lars von Trier on the international map.