Wuzhen, an ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River, has been steeped in the aroma of green sandalwood for hundreds of years. Su Zhenshu, the descendant of the Su family's wood carving, is the last young man in the town who still maintains his old craft. There is a crescent-shaped scar on the palm of his left hand, which is the mark left by a fire when he was ten years old. It is also the end of his memory - after the fire, his parents were buried in the flames, and he only has broken fragments of his family's past.
The "Sleeper Pavilion" at the east end of the town is the ancestral home of the Su family and also his wood carving workshop. The days were supposed to be spent peacefully among shavings and sawdust, until an old man in a gray cloth gown appeared with half a wooden plaque engraved with the word "green sandalwood", saying that it was a lost token of the Su family. The old man left the wooden sign and then disappeared without a trace. Since then, Su Zhenshu often saw an ancient house carved with green sandalwood patterns in his dreams. There was a vague figure in the house who always called him by his nickname.
With the appearance of the wooden sign, people in the town began to inquire about the Su family's past affairs, and some even sneaked into the sleeper pavilion late at night to steal the wooden sign. Su Zhenshu gradually discovered that the death of his parents was no accident. Behind the fire was the secret about the inheritance of wood carving skills. The scar on his palm, the old house in his dream, and half a wooden sign are all keys to solving the mystery. On the way to protect his ancestral property and pursue the truth, he meets Lin Wan, a female photographer who adheres to the culture of the ancient town. The two work together to face the ensuing crises, and in the aroma of green sandalwood, they uncover a grudge and protection spanning three generations.
