Nicholas (Paul Bettany) is a monk in England in 1380. When he breaks his vow of chastity he is expelled from the monastery and is disgraced. He soon takes up with a troupe of traveling actors, headed by Martin (Willem Dafoe), who perform the standard morality plays of the day. When one of the members of the troupe dies, Nicholas is taken into the troupe as an actor to replace him. Traveling about the countryside they come to the lands of Lord De Guise (Vincent Cassel) where a mysterious crime has taken place. The troupe is convinced by Nicholas to take up the story of the crime as their performance, and in so doing they are able to come to the truth behind the crime.