1930s Korea, under Japanese colonial rule. A young pickpocket named Sook-hee is hired as a handmaiden to Lady Hideko, a wealthy Japanese heiress kept secluded on a sprawling estate by her sinister uncle. What Hideko doesn't know: Sook-hee is part of a con — planted by a swindler posing as a Japanese count who plans to seduce Hideko, marry her, and have her committed to an asylum so he can steal her fortune. But as Sook-hee gets closer to Hideko, an unexpected and consuming desire begins to unravel the plan from the inside.