Sonja, a young, red-haired woman, is raped and left for dead by the soldiers of Queen Gedren, a despot who murdered Sonja's parents and brother after she scarred the queen's face in rejection of her sexual advances. Answering her cry for revenge, the red goddess, Scáthach, appears to her and gives her heightened strength, stamina, agility and fighting skills on the condition that she never lie with a man unless he defeats her in fair combat. She trains under a sword master called "The Grand Master" and is distrustful of all men besides him. At a nearby temple, Varna, Sonja's sister, is a member of an order of priestesses who are preparing to banish a mystical light-powered relic, the Talisman, that created the world and all living things. The Talisman can only be used and touched by women – men vanish if they touch it – and has become too powerful to control. However, Gedren's army and her aide-de-camp Ikol intervene and slaughter the priestesses and shield maidens before they can imprison it to permanent darkness.