Set in 18th-century China during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the story centers on two beings from the heavenly kingdom—a stone and a flower—who are reborn on earth as cousins Bao Yu (Precious Jade) and Dai Yu (Dark Jade). They fall in love, but their union is ill-fated as their elders favor a more suitable union for Bao Yu with his affable cousin Bai Chai. A counterpoint plot is of the noble Jia family heading for social disgrace and financial disaster who represent a crumbling society as the Chinese aristocracy finds itself increasingly unable to maintain the facade of noble infallibility and comes into conflict with ancient Buddhist and Confucian values.