England is torn in civil strife as the Royalists battle the
Parliamentary Party for control. This conflict distracts people from
rational thought and allows unscrupulous men to gain local power by
exploiting village superstitions. One of these men is Matthew Hopkins,
who tours the land offering his services as a persecutor of witches.
Aided by his sadistic accomplice John Stearne, he travels from city to
city and wrenches confessions from "witches" in order to line his
pockets and gain sexual favors. When Hopkins persecutes a priest, he
incurs the wrath of Richard Marshall, who is engaged to the priest's
niece. Risking treason by leaving his military duties, Marshall
relentlessly pursues the evil Hopkins and his minion Stearne.
