1705. In the golden city of Amsterdam Thea Brandt is turning eighteen, and she is ready to welcome adulthood with open arms. At the city's theatre, the love of her life awaits her, but at home all is not well - her father Otto and Aunt Nella argue endlessly, and the Brandt family are selling their furniture in order to eat. On Thea's birthday, also the day that her mother died, the secrets of the past begin to overwhelm the present.Nella is desperate to save the family and maintain appearances, to find Thea a husband who will guarantee her future, and when they receive an invitation to Amsterdam's most exclusive ball, she is overjoyed - perhaps this will set their fortunes straight.But, as Thea discovers new miniatures, Nella's fears are realized. Eighteen years after she first entered the family's life, the miniaturist may have plans of her own...