In the midst of the Chilean military coup in 1973, Lena (Emma Watson) and her boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Brühl) are arrested by Augusto Pinochet's secret police. While Lena is released after a short time, Daniel is taken to the isolated Colonia Dignidad in the south of the country. The settlement, run by the shady preacher Paul Schäfer, is supposed to give the outward appearance of a spotless community serving charitable purposes, but in reality those in charge collaborate with dictator Pinochet, for whom they interrogate and ultimately kill the incarcerated with the aid of cruel torture methods. No one ever left the place alive. Full of desperation, Lena joins the questionable group to find Daniel and escape together with him...