The tale of young Gritta who lives with her father, an unsuccessful inventor. When her new stepmother tries to put her away in a convent she discovers some dark secrets there.

13-year-old Gritta lives in an old, weathered castle with her father, an impoverished high count. While he works as a passionate inventor on a throne-saving machine for the king, free spirit Gritta enjoys her childhood to the full. But this comes to an end when her father decides to marry the noble Countess Nesselkrautia. She arranges for Gritta to be sent to a convent school. Outraged by the coercion there and the fraudulent machinations of the abbess with the greedy governor Pekavus, Gritta flees into the forest with her friends. There they meet the young prince and become friends with him. Gritta wants to warn the king about Pekavus' plans, but he is already on her trail.