A sensitive innocent, Hendrickje Stoffels escapes the harsh realities of her garrison home-town to become a servant in Rembrandt's household. She soon becomes his lover and closest confidante, filling the void in his life resulting from the death of his wife and two of their children. But Hendrickje is fated to discover the hypocrisy and fickleness of Amsterdam society.
In sensuous prose, Matton paints a powerful fictional portrait of this impassioned relationship against the backdrop of a turbulent era of Dutch history.