The Goldfinch is the story of Theodore "Theo" Decker. The novel is a coming-of-age story and a recollection of his life after his mother's death.
The novel jumps from his life at 22 to the day of his mother's death ten years earlier. That morning, they rush to his school from their tiny Manhattan apartment for a conference with his principal. Theo has been suspended, and his mother isn't pleased. They call a cab, but his mother gets carsick and they decide to walk to his school. On the way over it starts to rain, and they run into the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see an exhibit on the Dutch Golden Age of painting. Theo's mother shows him The Goldfinch, a painting by Carel Fabritius that she loves, but he is more interested in a girl that he sees across the gallery. His mother decides to head downstairs so they can make the meeting on time, but Theo asks to stay behind so he can keep looking at the girl.
The gallery is bombed, and Theo is surrounded by shrapnel and several dead bodies. He runs through the gallery to look for his mother but stumbles upon the man who was walking with the girl. The man gives him a ring and tells him to go to Hobart & Blackwell, and also insists that Theo leave with The Goldfinch. Theo grabs the painting, and runs home so he can meet with his mother. She never returns, and he learns that his mother is dead and that he needs to find a new home.
After his father abandons their family and his grandparents neglect him, Theo is taken in by the Barbours, a wealthy society family, because he is friends with Andy Barbour. He is happy with the Barbours, though he is still in shock over his mother's death, and spends much of his time trying to distract himself.
Once he returns to school, he realizes several students don't know how to treat him after mother's death. He loses most of his friends and Tom Cable, his former friend who caused his suspension, completely ignores him.
Theo travels to Hobart & Blackwell, an antique shop, to return the ring, and meets the girl he saw at the gallery, Pippa. He learns that the dying man he found is her Uncle Welty, and he meets Welty's business partner, Hobie. He frequently visits the shop until Pippa moves to Texas with her aunt.
Theo's father unexpectedly returns and takes him to Las Vegas to live with him and his girlfriend Xandra. Theo hides the painting in his new room, and begins a new life in Vegas. He meets Boris, whose father is also an abusive alcoholic and whose mother is also dead. They become close friends, and spend most of their time together.
Theo's father presses Theo to withdraw money from a college savings account his mother opened for him, but Theo's lawyer refuses. Naaman Silver, a mobster who Theo's dad owes money to, makes several visits to their house, threatening to hurt his father. After breaking his sobriety, Larry tries to drive away and escape his debts, but gets into a fatal car accident.
Theo knows he may be forced into a care home, so he travels back to New York. Boris begs him not to go, but Theo leaves and settles into an early college program and a new life with Hobie.
Eight years later, Theo becomes a partner at the antique shop, and hides the painting in a storage container. Theo reunites with the Barbours after a run-in with Platt, and finds out that Andy Barbour and Mr. Barbour died in a sailing accident. He starts to visit the Barbours and eventually proposes to Kitsey, Andy's sister, even though he's still in love with Pippa. He sells fake antiques to pay for the shop, and after a faulty sale, he is blackmailed by Lucius Reeve, who asks him to sell The Goldfinch. He becomes addicted to prescription medication, and continues using after several attempts to quit.
While trying to pick up some drugs, he runs into Boris. Boris reveals that he stole the painting and used it as collateral in drug deals. One of these drug deals leads to the murder of a housekeeper, after which the painting goes missing. Boris insists that he will find the painting, and Theo agrees to help. He meets Horst, an art dealer who has information about the painting's location, and he plans a heist with Boris.
After fleeing his meeting with Boris, Theo runs into Kitsey and Tom Cable, and realizes Kitsey is having an affair. Theo confronts her about it, and she insists they continue their engagement. Lucius continues to send letters about the painting, and Theo starts to panic. At his engagement party, Hobie tells him that Lucius Reeve used to be Lucian Race, and that Welty sent him to jail for stealing and reselling vulnerable elderly people's antiques. Boris insists they fly to Amsterdam immediately to retrieve the painting, and Theo leaves his engagement party in a rush. Before going to the airport, he leaves Pippa an extremely expensive necklace and a letter revealing his love for her.
In Amsterdam, they successfully reclaim the painting, but are trailed by Martin—a close friend of Horst's who is sent to kill them. In the ensuing shoot-out, Theo kills Martin and Boris gets shot. They are separated, and Theo spends several feverish days in Amsterdam alone. Boris eventually returns after informing the authorities about the thieves. He helps the authorities find The Goldfinch and several other paintings, and splits the reward money with Theo, who travels back to New York.
Theo reveals everything to Hobie, who insists he buy back all of the fake antiques he sold. Theo begins a year-long trip to purchase all of the fake antiques he sold. Pippa returns the necklace, but tells him she loves him, though they cannot be together because their similar experiences can only bring each other down. Theo reflects on his life, and realizes that even if life is painful, it is worth it for the moments of beauty and joy and the eternal art that these moments create.
