| Director | Britt Poulton, Dan Madison Savage |
|---|---|
| Genre | thriller film |
| Runtime | 98 min |
| Country | United States |
| Box office | $159,218 |
Mara Childs is a Pentecostal pastor's daughter raised in a remote community in Appalachia. Mara's father Lemuel runs a sect that incorporates snake handling into his preaching. To her father's pleasure, she is being seriously courted by one of his parishioners, Garret Booner. However, Mara discover she is pregnant with Augie Slaughter's child, who has abandoned the church. Under pressure from her community and her father, Mara decides to accept Garret's proposal.
After a minor dies while handling snakes, Garret informs Lemuel that the police are investigating him. To protect the congregation, Lemuel allows Garret to claim the snakes as his own, costing Garret his job.
Before marriage, Mara undergoes a customary virginity check that all women in the community are expected to go through, conducted by Augie’s mother, Hope. During the examination, Hope discovers Mara's pregnancy but keeps the information from Lemuel and Garret. After Hope arrives home, she realizes Mara has gone to see Augie, who informs Mara that he intends to take a job far away from their community. Believing that Augie could be the father, Hope urges him to repent.
In an attempt to reunite with Mara, Augie attends church and pretends to have a spiritual awakening. Lemuel then urges him to handle a snake which proceeds to bite him in the arm. Augie begs to be allowed to go to a hospital but is denied by his own family and Lemuel. After he attempts to save himself by cutting the poison out of his arm, Mara goes to his room to pray for him. They are then found lying together by Garret who warns Mara to never see Augie again.
The following day, Augie's condition has worsened. After hearing the news, Mara informs her friend, Dilly, that she is pregnant with Augie's child. While told by Lemuel to calm a drunken Garret down, Dilly then informs Garret about how the child isn't his. Garret then fights Mara, physically assaulting her and attempts to rape her before being stopped by Lemuel and thrown out of the house. Before Garrett leaves, he informs Lemuel that Mara's baby isn't his.
To cleanse Mara, Lemuel takes Mara to church and has her handle a snake. At the same time, Augie's parents, aware that he is close to death, decide to perform an amputation at home. Mara survives her encounter with the snake, earning her father's approval, but she ultimately decides to leave him to help Augie who is still sick after the amputation. With his parents’ permission, Mara leaves with Augie to take him to a doctor, promising them that she will always be there for him.