Plot summary

Left without a family and a few crowns each, cloistered sisters Juliette and her innocent chaste sibling Justine are forced to leave the nunnery's protection, and for the first time in their lives, dwell by themselves in the harsh outside world. But fate can be as relentless as it can be cruel and undeserved, and while Juliette finds shelter in Madame de Buisson's welcoming brothel, at the same time, beautiful auburn-haired Justine will have to cope with an almost endless parade of villains, perverts, and degenerates who will claim not only her puny fortune but also her treasured virtue and her life. As a result, Justine, humiliated, wrongfully accused and brought to her knees, inevitably questions her life of uprightness, chastity, and suffering, reaching a reluctant and unpleasant conclusion. Is it blasphemy or is it the voice of reason?—Nick Riganas