In a convent in rural France, only three ageing nuns remain. Cloistered within her failing faith and her failing body, Sister Bernard navigates each day through the simple markers of domesticity. But when the convent is threatened with closure, the protective bonds of piety and routine are torn away, and Sister Bernard is forced to confront herself and her past - the memories of wartime disgrace; of a German soldiers' bet giving voice to a heartbreaking love; of the full horror of war and motherhood. OBEDIENCE explores how the human psyche can endure and survive even the most brutal events.