On an autumn day in 1686, eighteenyearold Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharptongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinetsized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their reallife counterparts in unexpected ways . .