While riding a London bus, a mysterious young woman named Cenci (Mia Farrow) mistakes Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor), a middle-aged prostitute, for her recently deceased mother. Leonora, who has lost a child, accepts Cenci's bizarre invitation to move into her mansion, live with her and act as her mother. At first, the two live happily together, but when Cenci's stepfather, Albert (Robert Mitchum), returns to the estate, Cenci's shocking past begins to unravel.