Plot
Martha Farnsworth runs a girls' school in Virginia during the American Civil War. By 1864, almost all of the students, teachers, and slaves have left. In addition to Farnsworth herself, only five students and one teacher, Edwina Morrow, remain.
In the woods, the youngest student, Amy, comes across John McBurney, a corporal in the Union Army who was wounded in the leg during battle, and has since deserted. At the school, Farnsworth tends to his wounds and all the women and girls are fascinated by the handsome man.
Initially, some of the school's residents want McBurney to be delivered as a prisoner of war to the Confederate Army, but Farnsworth decides that they will let his leg heal before they decide, ostensibly to be a good Christian. When Confederate soldiers arrive at the school, Farnsworth does not tell them that a Union soldier is on the premises. While McBurney is recovering, the women and girls subtly vie for his affection by giving him presents, wearing jewelry, and preparing a lavish dinner for him. He returns their affection, which Farnsworth deduces is an attempt to win their favor and not be turned over to either army. When he is able to move again, he begins to help in the garden.
When Miss Farnsworth indicates that McBurney is healthy now and will have to leave the school in a few days, he tries to convince her to let him stay as a gardener but to no avail. Accepting his fate, he tells Edwina that he has fallen in love with her. That night, however, she finds him in bed with Alicia, the rebellious eldest pupil. McBurney tries to appease Edwina, but she pushes him away, causing him to fall down the stairs. Farnsworth and the rest of the girls hear the commotion and come to investigate, finding McBurney at the bottom of the stairs unconscious and with a badly fractured leg. Alicia claims that McBurney forced himself onto her and Edwina's intervention caused the accident. Farnsworth examines the injury and decides that the only way to save his life is to amputate his leg.
When he awakens days later and discovers he's lost his leg, McBurney is devastated and furious, accusing the women of doing so in revenge for him choosing Alicia over them. Fansworth locks McBurney in the music room for their safety. When Alicia comes to visit, he threatens Alicia into giving him the key. He breaks out, steals Farnsworth's gun, and threatens the women before storming off. When Farnsworth sends Amy to the gate to signal McBurney's presence to Confederate troops, he pursues her at gunpoint to a shed, where Farnsworth rescues her by talking him down.
After McBurney storms out, Farnsworth and the students settle on killing McBurney by preparing him a dinner containing poisonous mushrooms. Edwina follows McBurney to his room, where she initiates sex. During the dinner, Edwina is unaware of the plan, and McBurney falls dead after eating the mushrooms.
While the students sew McBurney's body into a shroud, Edwina is devastated. The women drag McBurney's body to the road and attach the signal to the gate so that he will be found by the next Confederate soldiers who pass by.
