Based on a true story, Benedetta was adapted by Verhoeven himself along with screenwriter David Birke (Slender Man) from the 1986 book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by author Judith C. Brown. In the story, a 17th-century nun stirs the status quo of the convent in which she lives after having disturbing erotic and religious visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.