Sarah Bailey, played by Robin Tunney, is a troubled teenager grappling with past turmoil, including a previous suicide attempt. Recently relocating from San Francisco to Los Angeles with her father, Cliff De Young, and her stepmother, she faces new challenges as she enrolls in an unfamiliar Catholic high school. Struggling to fit in, her journey takes a notable turn during French class, where her classmate Bonnie, portrayed by Neve Campbell, witnesses a bewildering display of Sarah's emerging telekinetic abilities as she effortlessly rotates a pencil on its tip.
At lunchtime, Sarah draws the attention of Chris, the school's star football player, played by Skeet Ulrich. Curious about Bonnie and her friends, Nancy, played by Fairuza Balk, and Rochelle, portrayed by Rachel True, Chris warns Sarah to steer clear of the trio, labeling them as "witches." Intrigued by the group's dynamics, Bonnie informs Nancy and Rochelle that Sarah is the missing piece they've sought to complete their coven. Each of the girls carries their own burdens: Nancy endures an unstable home life in a trailer with her mother, Grace Downs (Helen Shaver), who is plagued by an abusive stepfather Ray (John Kapelos); Bonnie navigates significant emotional scars resulting from a severe burn injury; and Rochelle faces a distressing experience with racism at the hands of Laura, the school's popular blonde girl, played by Christine Taylor.
After a school day that leaves Sarah feeling isolated, she finds solace with Bonnie, Nancy, and Rochelle, who take her to an mystical shop. The shop owner, Lirio, played by Assumpta Serna, senses something unique in Sarah and suggests that her powers might be inherent. The chain of events escalates when the girls collectively will for an accident to befall an aggressive vagrant, resulting in a fatal collision that sparks an exhilarating and daunting awakening to their newfound abilities.
As the friendship deepens, Nancy introduces Sarah to the concept of invoking spirits, specifically a powerful entity named Manon, which becomes the coven's ultimate aspiration. However, when Sarah rejects Chris's advances, claiming her boundaries and refusing intimacy, he spreads rumors at school that leave her humiliated and heartbroken. In their effort to uplift her spirits, Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle invite Sarah on a field trip, during which they cast different spells, each expressing their wishes—Rochelle seeks strength against hatred, Sarah casts a love spell on Chris, Bonnie desires beauty, and Nancy pursues immense power.
The impact of their spells soon manifests: Chris develops an intense obsession with Sarah, Bonnie’s scars fade away, and when Laura torments Rochelle, she experiences a hair loss incident of her own. The dark turn of events continues as Nancy inadvertently brings tragedy to her home, causing her stepfather Ray to suffer a fatal heart attack. Shortly after, their luck appears to shift when they learn they've inherited a significant sum from an insurance policy. Thus, Nancy and her mother relocate to a lavish apartment, and unbeknownst to them, their fortunes come with a price, as they suppose a rift in their friendships may be brewing.
The girls’ excursions into the supernatural lead them to the ocean, where they make contact with Manon. However, during their most intense invocation, Nancy is struck by lightning, which elevates her powers to unprecedented levels. As her powers grow, the dynamics of friendship begin to dissolve, with tensions rising between the girls, particularly when Rochelle expresses guilt over the spell that affected Laura. As an evening unfolds, Sarah finds herself facing the bitter consequences of her love spell gone awry, culminating in a harrowing encounter with Chris that nearly culminates in assault.
The spiral into darkness intensifies when Nancy seeks vengeance, resulting in Chris's tragic demise. Sarah's coping mechanism leads her down a nightmarish path, haunted by alarming visions of her once-close friends turned enemies. In desperation, she seeks Lirio's guidance once again, unearthing secrets about her own lineage—with her mother being a substantial witch herself. Empowered by this revelation, Sarah attempts to invoke Manon, but finds herself stifled by fear of the destruction she foresees, leading to a terrifying separation from her former allies.
As Sarah is pushed to her limits by the taunts and threats of Bonnie and Rochelle, she learns of a deceptive trick that threatens to undo her, prompting a dangerous battle for survival. Faced with psychological manipulations, escalating horrors, and life-threatening stakes, Sarah finds herself tapping into her ancestral power, provoking a showdown with Nancy. In the climactic confrontation, Sarah successfully binds Nancy's powers, ensuring she can no longer wreak havoc upon the world.
Ultimately, the remaining girls, stripped of their abilities, confront Sarah, seeking her forgiveness, taunting her in parting. As her father prepares to leave Los Angeles, Sarah reveals a potent reminder of her unyielding strength through a display of lightning that nearly crushes her former friends. With a warning to reflect on their actions and a smile hinting at her latent powers, Sarah embraces her destiny, while we catch a glimpse of Nancy's fate in the confines of a psychiatric hospital, where she cries out, "He gave me powers! I can fly, I'm flying, I'm flying, I'm flying!" This journey through friendship, betrayal, and the supernatural marks a potent exploration of young female empowerment amidst harrowing trials.
