Young Joon-hee befriends little Kang-hee, but the two girls get into trouble because of Kang-hee's poor but greedy mother. Joon-hee also makes friends with two boys, Kim Dong-young, the son of a military general and Jang Bin, the son of a fashion designer.
But when North Korean forces invade their town, both girls are separated from their parents and Joon-hee's mother is killed in an explosion. Believing his daughter to have died, Joon-hee's father adopts Kang-hee and raises her as his own daughter. Joon-hee is discovered at an orphanage by Kang-hee's mother, and is also adopted. The trauma of the events causes Joon-hee to block out her childhood memories and she grows up on a small island as Deo-mi, unaware of her true identity.
Years pass and all four of their paths cross again, with complicated, destructive results. Deo-mi dreams of becoming a fashion designer, and petty criminal Jang Bin helps her move to Seoul to chase her dream. In the process he falls in love with her, but his feelings are unrequited. Deo-mi meets Dong-young, who has become an aide to the President, and although they do not recognize each other, there is an instant attraction between them. Kang-hee (now called Joon-hee) is also working in fashion, and already in love with Dong-young, but is heartbroken when she discovers he has fallen for Deo-mi.
Deo-mi and Joon-hee first become friends, then become each other's greatest rivals like Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. They pursue both love and ambition with their lives against the backdrop of the fashion industry and the shifting social mores of 1970s Korea.
