In a suspiciously profitable convent near Pittsburgh, the abbess has just died. To protect their secrets, sister Alexandra (Glenda Jackson) is determined to become the order's new leader. But when she sees her campaign threatened by a pretty, sexually liberated young novice (Susan Penhaligon), all hell breaks loose! Soon. Alexandra and her cronies (Geraldine Page, Melina Mercouri and Sandy Dennis) are up to their rosaries in blackmail, dirty tricks and righteously comic complications.