April 1, 1649. St. George's Hill, Surrey, England. A reformation-era religious sect called the Diggers sets out to form a commune and till the soil on "common land," which by law permits grazing-- but not settlement and cultivation. Led by Gerard Winstanley, theirs is a nonviolent action to reclaim land for the poor who have been dispossessed by Oliver Cromwell's recent Civil War. But the local villagers see the Diggers as a threat to their livelihood and, led by the Presbyterian parson, John Platt, take violent action to harass and burn them out.