The story begins in Peking, China in 1895. Two children, Jules (a Chinese boy), and Julie (an English girl) are born, fulfilling the first part of a prophecy foretold by the soothsayer Laozi. That prophecy describes two children, born to different parents, but in the same place at the same hour (when the moon is at its highest point in the night sky) whose mothers both perish at birth, which begins the end of the tyrannical rule of the Empress of China. In addition, the prophecy also states that in order for this dethronement to occur, the so-called "Twins of Destiny" must replace two stone tablets at the Temple of Heavenly Harmony in the Forbidden City. As foretold, this would lead to collapse of the Empire. The children are also known as the children of the Moon Goddess.