Based on a true story, The Magdalene Sisters charts several years in the young lives of three "fallen" women, who find themselves incarcerated by the Catholic Church. Shunned by their families for their immoral behaviour, the young women are condemned to indefinite sentences of unpaid work in the Magdalene laundries to atone for their sins.The years of degradation and abuse suffered under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishments, lead many to darkness, violence and suicide.