The following version of the book was used to create this guide: Zhang, Jenny. Four Treasures of the Sky. Flatiron Books, 2022.

Four Treasures of the Sky is divided into four parts, which are titled by the name of the place in which the events of that part transpire. The parts are further divided into series of unnamed chapters of varying lengths. Daiyu, a young orphan from Zhifu, China, is the novel’s first person narrator.

Daiyu’s parents disappear without explanation when she is young girl. To protect her from a similar fate, her grandmother dresses her as a boy and sends her to live on the streets of Zhifu. Here, she meets Master Wang, a local calligraphy artist who takes her under his care and offers her a job. While at the school, Daiyu discovers her passion for calligraphy and Master Wang begins to teach her the art form.

One day while Daiyu is at the local fish market, she is kidnapped by a young man name Jasper whose intentions she believes to be pure. Jasper confines her to a jail cell where she is poorly cared for. Here she learns English in preparation for her new life in America. Jasper sells her to the tong, a Chinese mafia that operates in San Francisco. She is purchased by Madame Lee who gives her the name Peony and teaches her the ways of a prostitute.

Madame Lee informs her that she has been gifted to her first client by the tong. When Samuel arrives, she realizes he is only a boy. Instead of having sex with her, Samuel only wants to talk and share their most vulnerable experiences. Together, they hatch a plan to escape San Francisco for Idaho. Samuel believes they will be able to find employment in the mines.

They barely escape the brothel safely. When they do, Samuel cuts Daiyu’s hair and gives her identification papers that create her new identity of Jacob Li. The reach Boise and find accommodations in a makeshift Taoist temple. Daiyu finally feels safe and sleeps deeply. She is awakened by an old man who rapes her and takes her virginity. Samuel does nothing to protect her, though he is sleeping in the same bed.

Enraged at the loss of her girlhood, Daiyu takes her identification papers and disappears into Idaho. She finds work in Pierce at the Pierce Big Store with two friendly Chinese men named Lum and Nam. She enjoys her work but feels lonely disguised as an Asian man in a town of white people. When Nelson Wong enters the store, she falls in love at first sight.

Their relationship develops into a deep friendship, although Daiyu feels unable to reveal her true identity for fear she will compromise her safety. When riots begin outside the storefront, Lum, Nam, and Daiyu worry that they will no longer be safe in Pierce. They decide to stay, and instead of returning violence for violence, they hope the townspeople will recognize their good intent.

When Daiyu discovers that Nelson is romantically involved with a local white girl named Caroline, she feels betrayed and tries to impress him with the gravity of the possible consequences of his romance. He calls her ‘selfish’ because instead of trying to protect her fellow Chinese from racism, she is leaving town and only cares about her own safety. They have a falling out, which is only repaired when Daiyu recognizes the truth in Nelson’s words.

She decides to stay in Pierce and help him bring a lawsuit against another Idaho town, where a recent massacre left many innocent Chinese people dead. They wake one morning to Sheriff Bates, who announces that they are under arrest for the murder of Daniel Foster, the owner of the rival general store. They are thrown into prison without evidence.

At their hearing, Caroline Foster testifies that Nelson wanted to remove her father as an obstacle to their love. This testimony provides a possible motive, which is all the angry people of Pierce need to send them to trial. On their way to their trial in a neighboring town, Sheriff Bates delivers the men to the KKK. Without trial or evidence, the white-hooded men hang Daiyu and her friends.

Her remains are shipped back to Zhifu, but because no one comes to claim them, they are deposited in the ocean. Her grandmother is still wandering the streets of Zhifu calling her name.