Sophia, a much older businessman , whose first wife dies in childbirth. The marriage freed Sophia from poverty, but also put on her shoulders the pressure of giving Cornelius a child—preferably a male heir. Sophia and Jane fall in love after Cornelius finds the couple a portrait of a poor young painter named Jane
Meanwhile, the Cornelius couple's servant Mariafinds herself in love with a local fishmonger, William. Poor but ambitious William invested his meager savings on a small batch of tulips, whose various bulbs soon showed up all over Amsterdam. Sophia finds out that she can't get pregnant, but when Maria becomes pregnant, Sophia seizes the opportunity and plans to break away from the marriage and run away from the city with Jane
.
