In an attempt to escape the poverty of their lives in a small Dutch town, Katie and her family move to Amsterdam. Here they hope to find a better life and benefit from the wealth they anticipate finding. However, when they discover squalor and sexual degradation all around them, their illusions become shattered. Soon Katie is forced into prostitution, and becomes the mistress of a well-to-do banker (Rutger Hauer) who instructs her in the ways of the turn-of-the-century upper class. Bold and brutal, this drama is a great example of Paul Verhoeven's frank, and often explicit, style that continues to cause controversy...