Act One

The action takes place during the French Revolution and its aftermath, 1789-1794. In his home, the Marquis de la Force and his son the Chevalier worry about the Marquis' daughter Blanche, whose carriage is surrounded by a hostile crowd. Blanche, however, arrives unharmed, but announces she will enter the Carmelite order of nuns.



At the Carmelite convent several weeks later, Blanche is interviewed by the elderly Prioress and then accepted into the order. Blanche later meets the chipper young nun Sister Constance, who shocks her by calmly revealing a dark premonition: both she and Blanche will die on the same day, still in their youth.



In her cell the ailing Prioress is dying a protracted death, displaying both defiance and spiritual weakness. She tells the assistant Prioress, Mother Marie, that she must watch over Blanche. When, near the end of the scene, the Prioress attempts to speak to Blanche, she dies.



Act Two

In the chapel, Blanche keeps vigil alone over the body of the Prioress, but panics suddenly and flees. While taking flowers to the Prioress' grave, Sister Constance tells Blanche that a person's death may be for the benefit of others or that people may actually exchange each other's deaths. The Prioress' agonizing passing might therefore have allowed someone else an easy death.



In the convent's chapter room, the new Prioress, Madame Lidoine (Mother Marie of St. Augustine) warns of troubles ahead. Soon the Chevalier appears to see his sister. During his visit with her, he warns she may not be safe here because of her aristocratic background and accuses her of remaining in the convent because of her fears of the outside.



In the sacristy of the convent, the Father Confessor announces that the Mass he has just finished would be his last, as he is forced to go into hiding because of the political turmoil. Knocks at the door are heard and an angry throng pours in. Two Commissars proclaim banishment of the nuns from the convent.



Act Three

Sometime later, the nuns, with the Prioress absent, assemble in the chapel, now in ruins. Mother Marie proposes that they vow to accept martyrdom. A vote is taken, with a unanimous result needed to effect adoption. Blanche casts the only negative vote, but Sister Constance claims to be the dissenter and to have now changed her mind. Her ploy works, but in the confusion that soon grips the scene, Blanche escapes.



In the Marquis' library, Blanche, now working as a servant, has learned that her father has gone to the guillotine. While she cooks, Mother Marie enters and informs her that the Carmelite nuns have been arrested. She also tells her of a place where she will be safe and where they can later meet.



In the Conciergie prison, the Prioress consoles the nuns and promises that she too will follow the vow of martyrdom, even though she was not present for the vote. The jailer enters to inform the nuns that they have been sentenced to death. Sister Constance is certain that Blanche will return because of her premonition. When Mother Marie hears of the death sentences, she decides she must be with the others, but the Father Confessor dissuades her.



In the final scene, the Carmelites sing the Salve Regina as they are led to the guillotine, one by one. Sister Constance is about to die when she spots Blanche amid the spectators. Blanche begins singing and soon joins her sisters to fulfill the vow she eschewed.

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