The wife of a dull-witted miller is in her deathbed and the miller must find a new woman to marry. He is expected to marry the sister of a local forester, a refined woman he wants to love. She is gentle and motherly, though a rather austere Christian. But the miller lusts after his maidservant, Lise, a ruthless and calculating woman determined to climb up the social ladder. Lise tries to use her lower class sensuality and a bit of magic to entice the miller.