The story begins in Peking (now Beijing) and portrays accurately the Australian naval presence in the Boxer Rebellion in China 1898. A young officer falls in love with a Chinese girl, and buys her a beautiful jade and diamond ring as a demonstration of his love. He endeavours to obtain permission to marry her, but is killed during the last days of the Rebellion. The girl finds herself pregnant and goes to an American Mission (the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) to have the child, and is completely accepted as one of the family. When the Mission is closed and she cannot obtain permission to go to the USA, the ring is given to the wife of the Head of the Mission, because of her love for the woman. It is to be a love ring, only given to a person deeply in love.

The Love Ring goes from China to the United States, then to Oxford and Greece, and back to China. Finally, the ring is taken to Australia, where the young officer's family is located. Essentially, there are three love stories as the ring is passed by one deeply in love to another deeply in love.

These love stories are set in an historical framework. The authors have doctorate degrees in history and are familiar with each of the societal settings of the novel.