Reverend Anthony Campion (Hugh Grant) is sent with his wife Estella (Tara Fitzgerald) to take over at a church in Australia. The Bishop asks them to visit eccentric artist Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill), whose work is prone to sexual depictions and blasphemous erotica, to ask him to withdraw the controversial work Crucified Venus from his show.

The minister, who considers himself a progressive, is shocked at the amoral atmosphere surrounding the painter, his wife, and the three models living at his estate. The minister's wife is troubled also, and has to deal with latent sexual urges while trying to remain loyal to her husband.