"I am straitened on every side: for if I do this thing, it is death unto me: and if I do it not I cannot escape your hands." Daniel 13:22

 

Written during the McCarthy era and loosely based on the Apocryphal tale of "Susanna and the Elders," Susannah is set in the rural community of New Hope Valley, Tennessee. Susannah Polk, a beautiful young woman, becomes the target of gossip and suspicion from her church community. When local elders discover her innocently bathing in a creek, they condemn her as immoral, and the congregation turns against her.

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Under pressure to confess to sins she did not commit, Susannah seeks understanding but finds none. The newly arrived Reverend Olin Blitch visits her home to pray for her and instead assaults her. Later, consumed by guilt, he begs for forgiveness after learning of her innocence.

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When Susannah's brother Sam learns what has happened, he seeks revenge. The townspeople blame Susannah for the resulting violence and gather to drive her from the valley. Warned in advance, she stands her ground and refuses to leave, forcing them to retreat. Though she remains in her home, Susannah is left isolated, embittered, and cut off from the community that has betrayed her.