In an inventive and above all cinematographic and essayist way, Als een vlieg naar de vlam tries to solve a riddle. Why did a young lady from very affluent circles in 19th century The Hague choose an extremely dangerous life? Why did that lady in the era of salons and corsets set off for the African desert? The film is about the life of Alexandrine Pieternella Françoise Tinne (1835-1869). In the 19th century there were more explorers from noble or at least affluent backgrounds that set off for the blank spots on what was then the map of the world, but Alexandrine Tinne was still fairly unusual as a woman.