When a great famine covers the land, a loveless marriage leaves two children helpless against their parent's insanities. A father consumed by the memories of his dead ex-wife is instilled with incestuous thoughts of his growing daughter. A step-mother, resentful and cold due to her husband's lack of love and attention, uses these thoughts against him. Believing his obsession with his daughter is the last remaining trace of his ex-wife, the step-mother convinces him to cast his children into the forest to be forgotten. However, Hansel and Gretel become ensnared by a witch's magic. With Hansel in a cage, Gretel is their only salvation.