Five men from various backgrounds attend a spiritual course in a convent. The group consists of a candle-maker, a politician, a prisoner of war, an author and a thief, who joined the convent to escape from the police. All of the men, apart of the thief, have a moral problem to solve. The politician has repressed the fact that he sacrificed three lives in a sabotage act: he will solve his crisis by becoming a priest. The prisoner of war, who is ill and believed to be dead, doesn't have the courage to return to his wife, who remarried while he was away. In spite of the priest's counsel, he will leave his wife for ever. The writer feels responsible for the crimes committed by his readers, but he decides to continue to publish his books because of financial reasons. The candle maker, who is a miser and bigot, doesn't learn anything during his stay, but the thief leaves the convent sorry and redeemed.