The series is set in Paris, France, and stars two teenage superheroes. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the daughter of French father and a Chinese mother, a schoolgirl, and an aspiring fashion designer. She is chosen to become the latest keeper of a Miraculous (a magical artifact), which transforms her into Ladybug and enhances her combat skills. Adrien Agreste works as a professional model while in his teens and has many female admirers. But he is secretly lonely, as his father (a famous fashion designer) intentionally keeps him isolated from the world, his mother has mysteriously disappeared, and he was home-schooled for most of his life. He is chosen to become the next wielder of a Miraculous, which transforms him into Chat Noir (French for "Black Cat") and enhances his combat skills. The two of them have to protect Paris from akumas (Japanese for "devil" or "demon") . Through the series, ordinary people who are feeling intense fear, sadness, anger, or jealousy are possessed by the akumas and transformed into super-villains with varying powers. Ladybug and Chat Noir have to both defeat the villain and free the hosts from possession. The stakes are high when the possessed hosts include the heroes' friends, classmates, and even their own relatives.