TEXT: [Bells tolling] Isaac: I, Isaac Walton... Have gazed upon the nakedness of Abigail Cook... [Voice breaking]... And did kiss her. George: And? Isaac: And... George: And did commit the sin of self-pollution. Isaac: And committed the sin of self-pollution. George: 10 hard ones. Isaac: [Screams] [Leather cracks] [Screaming] George: On this glorious day, our brave boys muster to face the devil's shock troops... French and Indian savages massing in the woods right outside our doors. Isaac: [Groaning] George: And what are you going off to defend? Not Sodom, but Salem. We cannot expect God to be on our side if we tolerate abominations or those who commit them. You two will remain in the stocks overnight. And you, boy, will bear the mark of your sins the rest of your life. Isaac: [Groaning] [Sizzling] No, please. Please! Mr. Hale: For God's sakes, Sibley. The stocks and the lashings are punishment enough. Isaac: [Sobbing] No! George: Fornicator! Isaac: [Screams] [Crowd gasps] [Screaming] John: Judge not... Lest ye be judged. George: Who said that? John: Jesus. You might have heard of him. George: John Alden. [Scoffs] My respect for your father's memory can only shield you so long. Giles: It's a good thing you're mustering out tonight. Like it or not, Sibley's in charge. He tolerated your father, but he won't be happy till he sees you swing. [Dog barking in distance] [Horse neighs] John: Hey! Mary: Oh! John: [Chuckles] Mary: Didn't you learn anything today? John: Yes, yes, if I have to spend one more night under the same stars as that b*st*rd George Sibley, I will gut him like the pig
SUMMARY:
Mary is a young, unwed girl pregnant with John Alden's baby in Salem, a Puritanical town. Believing her lover John was killed during King William's War , she is now faced with the Puritans' stocks and forehead branding, or giving her and John's child to the devil. Having chosen the latter, she marries the town's richest and most influential selectman George Sibley, claiming his wealth and power for herself by enslaving him. Reverend Cotton Mather is trying to stop witches from taking over America by killing them. John returns home to witness a witch-hunt , wherein Mary plans to use the trials to get Puritans to kill each other, allowing her to rule Salem.