In the wake of prolonged famine, the palace arranges Princess Song Hwa’s marriage in an attempt to correct the cosmic misfortune. A renowned diviner, Do Yoon, is brought in to find the perfect husband who will have the best marital harmony with the princess. From candidates all over the country, four prospective husbands with different astrological signs are shortlisted.
However, the princess refuses to accept that her life partner will be chosen solely based on fortune reading and decides to check out the candidates herself before the final decision. As she sneaks out of the palace, Do Yoon finds out about this and follows after her.
Kyung Chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. He has committed infernal serial murders in diabolic ways that one cannot even imagine and his victims range from young women to even children. The police have chased him for a long time but were unable to catch him.
One day, Joo Yeon, daughter of a retired police chief, becomes his prey and is found dead in a horrific state. Her fiance Soo Hyun, a top-secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take bloody vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself to get this monstrous and inhumane killer.
Born to a family of established court painters, seven-year-old Yun Jeong is a young girl gifted at painting. However, the pressure is on her brother to carry on the proud family tradition, as women aren't allowed to become professional painters. While her brother trains to take his place in the court, Yun Jeong helps him out by secretly painting for him. The little girl's life is turned upside down when her brother kills himself. In order to preserve the family honor, she is forced to take her brother's name and lives as a man. Yun Bok's genius and talent capture the heart of another great master of the time, Kim Hong Do.
But her daring depictions of women are condemned by the royal institute as obscene. Yun Bok meets Kang Mu and falls deeply in love. For the first time, she feels the strong desire to abandon everything she has built and simply be a woman in front of the man she loves. Kang Mu sacrifices all for his love as well. Kim Hong Do, who loved the genius of his best student, ends up loving everything about her, and Seol Hwa, a Gisaeng at the courtesan house, possesses a love for Hong Do that turns into fatal jealousy. The secret behind Shin Yun Bok's masterpiece, Portrait of a Beauty, is finally revealed after 250 years of silence.