In 17th century Holland, a faction of royalists is scheming to restore the monarchy and jail the De Witt brothers, who control the Republic. At the same time Tulip Fever is raging, and bulb-grower Cornelis van Baerle tries to obtain the secret of black tulips. Van Baerle will soon find himself threatened by radical royalists and rival bulb-grower Isaac van Boxtel.
When Joy, the daughter of the actress Gloria Grey, is six years old, her mother realises that the theatrical life is contaminating the child. She confides in Mark Halliday, an actor who has helped her in the past and who proposes marriage. She tells him that she is still married and - in a series of flash-backs - relates her story.