Steven McMahon, a young American struggling to reconcile his priestly vocation with his very human desire for love and intimacy, flees to Peru on mission, seeking the serenity he cannot find at home. In a tiny village in the Andes Mountains he meets a young native school teacher chased by demons of her own. They find themselves trapped between brutal Shining Path guerillas and a harsh military counter-insurgency. There they discover the true meaning, and the price, of love.