Elisa, youngest child and sole daughter of King Hildebrand, dwells with her six brothers in a remote forest castle after her mother’s passing. Their fragile peace fractures when her father weds Greta, a witch’s daughter, who ensnares the princes with cursed cloths, transforming them into swans. Elisa narrowly escapes Greta’s magic through her brothers’ protection, then dedicates herself to a solitary quest: undoing the curse by weaving six nettle shirts in silence across six years.

Enduring isolation and nettle-scorched hands, she scavenges cemeteries by night, evading capture until King Friedrich’s hunters discover her. Taken to his castle, she withstands Friedrich’s courtship without speech, her muteness fueling accusations of witchcraft orchestrated by Greta and her mother, who blame her for a spreading plague.

Condemned to execution, Elisa stitches the final shirt even as flames rise. Her swan-brothers descend, and she hurls the garments over them, breaking the curse. Restored to human form, they vindicate her. Regaining her voice, Elisa exposes the witches’ treachery, securing their banishment. She weds Friedrich, reconciles with her father, and reunites her family, her resilience and silent perseverance forging their salvation.