Based on the story of Anneliese Michel (1952-1976), a young German woman with temporal lobe epilepsy who was not helped by psychiatric treatment. Her parents were convinced that she was possessed by the devil, and she went through 67 exorcism rituals. In the course of these, she stopped eating food, and died of dehydration and malnutrition at age 23. Her parents were tried for negligent homicide and were sentenced to six months in prison (reduced to three years on probation) and a fine.