I read the novel around November of last year and finally watched the series in full today. This is a review of the series, but I will inevitably be comparing it to the novel throughout.

We begin in Amsterdam in 1686. A young woman, Petronella, has reluctantly agreed to an arranged marriage to a wealthy man in order to have her family's debts paid off. When Petronella arrives at her new home, we meet the strict mistress of the house, Nella's now sister in law, the unmarried Marin, and later in the evening, Nella's aloof and often absent new husband, Johannes, joins the scene.