President Choi, hotelier of Seoul Hotel, dies from a heart attack hours after his old friend Kim Bok-man informed him that his company Hankang Distribution was buying shares of Seoul Hotel in preparation of a takeover. Choi is succeeded by his wife, Yoon Bong-sook, who had never assumed any managerial position in the hotel before. Her son, Choi Young-jae is a dissolute young man who refuses to work and spends all his time partying.
To fend off the competitor, Madam Yoon sends one of the hotel employees, Seo Jin-young, to America to try to rehire Seoul Hotel's former hotel manager, Han Tae-jun, who was forced to resign after a scandal despite his innocence. Tae-jun is currently taking care of Jenny, a drug-addicted Korean-American girl.
To assist him in buying Seoul Hotel's shares through whatever means possible, Bok-man hires Frank Shin (aka Shin Dong-hyuk), a wealthy Korean-American lawyer, businessman, and mergers and acquisitions specialist.
Frank only agrees to take the job after meeting Jin-young in America and being fascinated by her. Traveling to Seoul for the first time since he left the country as a child, Frank and his loyal business assistant Leo move into a chalet at the Seoul Hotel to better conduct their secret business deal.
Through Frank's double dealings, Bok-man learns of Seoul Hotel's mismanagement problems. But Frank finds himself falling in love with Jin-young, and Jin-young feels torn between him and her old friend and colleague Tae-jun.
Meanwhile, Young-jae falls for Kim Yoon-hee, melancholic heiress and Bok-man's daughter, after meeting her at a nightclub. But Yoon-hee is attracted to the kind and mature Tae-jun, whom she'd encountered at a birthday party held at Seoul Hotel.
Tae-jun is weighed down by his numerous responsibilities: defending the hotel from its competitors, protecting Yoon-hee from her abusive father, preventing Jin-young from falling in love with the suspicious Frank, and helping Young-jae mend his ways.
Frank soon discovers that Jenny, whom Tae-jun had rescued, is his biological sister. Together, they go to see their father, who calls them by their Korean names, Dong-hyuk and Dong-hee. His reconciliation with his family and love for Jin-young results in a change of heart for Frank, and he decides to switch sides and help Seoul Hotel.
Tae-jun and Frank work together and succeed in re-establishing Seoul Hotel's reputation as a top hotel. Bong-sook is diagnosed with cancer and dies. Frank and Jin-young get engaged. Yoon-hee goes to Las Vegas to study business, and Tae-jun follows her abroad; in a scene after the ending credits, Tae-jun and Yoon-hee are shown reuniting on a highway road.
