When fifteen-year-old Minke travels to Amsterdam to care for the dying wife of an older, wealthy man, she has no idea what awaits her. Within hours of his wife's death Sander proposes marriage. Within days the couple sets sail for the oil fields of Argentina. But her bright future turns dark when Minke's son is kidnapped. With Sander forced to leave for New York at once, Minke must follow him after her new baby's arrival, and abandon her firstborn.