When a pious nun named Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) must leave the convent to visit her alienated family uncle Don Jaime (Fernando Rey) who is deathly ill, she finds her faith under assault. The man has always been obsessed with Viridiana’s dead mother and seems to transfer his feelings to the nun. During her visit, he insists she wear her mother’s wedding gown. He later hangs himself, leaving the rich estate to the nun. She has tried to reconcile the uncle with his son Jorge (Francisco Rabal), and she gladly shares the fortune with him, remaining at the mansion. When peasant revolutionaries attack the estate, Viridiana faces assault on another level by the same people she has tried to help.