Tim Jenison, a Texas based journalist, attempts to solve a few of the most important mysteries in every art: Just how can Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer manage to paint therefore photo-realistically 150 years before the invention of photography? Spanning a short time, Jenison's adventure takes him to Holland, on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to fulfill artista David Hockney, and even to Buckingham Palace. The epic search endeavor Jenison embarques on is as what he discovers, as extraordinary.