Jane Lindsay's father dies when she is young, so her mother works as a housekeeper for Sylvester Milner. Jane hears stories of the House of a Thousand Lanterns and befriends Sylvester's nephew Joliffe, but their relationship ends badly. Jane moves with her mother and Sylvester to the House of a Thousand Lanterns in Hong Kong. After Sylvester's strange death, someone tries to kill Jane in order to possess the house. Jane discovers the culprit is a woman named Chan Cho Lan who is jealous of Jane's connection to the house.