Synopsis

In 17th-century Salem, Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A because she is an adulteress with an out-of-wedlock daughter whose father she has refused to name for seven years. A vigorous older stranger arrives, but he's not a stranger to Hester; he is her long-estranged husband. He poses as Dr. Chillingworth, watching Hester and searching out her lover's identity. His eye soon rests on Dimmesdale, an overwrought young pastor. Enmity grows between the two men; Chillingworth applies psychological pressure and the pastor begins to crack. A ship stops in Salem, and Hester sees it as a providential refuge for her daughter, herself, and her lover. Will Dimmesdale flee with her?