It is Paris in the 1400s. A young girl named Marguerite delights in assisting her father, Jacques, in his craft: illuminating manuscripts for the nobility of France. His current commission is a splendid book of hours for his patron, Lady Isabelle, but will he be able to finish it in time for Lady Isabelle's name day? In this richly illustrated tale, Marguerite comes to her father's aid by secretly completing his commission. She journeys all over Paris buying goose feathers for quills, eggs for mixing paints, dried plants and ground minerals for pigments, and gold leaf; then she expertly finishes the illumination of Lady Isabelle's book, to the pleasure of her father and his patron.