In 1801, Mr. Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, visits his landlord Mr. Heathcliff at the isolated Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff proves to be a dark, reserved, and unwelcoming man. The estate is bleak and exposed to harsh weather. During the visit, Lockwood is attacked by Heathcliff's aggressive dogs. Despite the cold reception and hostile atmosphere, Lockwood finds himself intrigued by Heathcliff's extreme reserve and decides to visit again.

Lockwood makes a second visit to Wuthering Heights during a snowstorm. He meets a beautiful but hostile young woman (later revealed to be Mrs. Heathcliff, widow of Heathcliff's deceased son) and a rough young man named Hareton Earnshaw. The household is cold and unwelcoming. Lockwood makes several social blunders, misunderstanding the relationships between the inhabitants. When he attempts to leave during the blizzard, he's again attacked by the dogs and suffers a nosebleed. The violent snowstorm forces him to accept lodging for the night.

Zillah, the housekeeper, places Lockwood in a mysterious room with an enclosed oak bed. Inside, he discovers old books belonging to Catherine Earnshaw, filled with diary entries about her childhood with Heathcliff and her brother Hindley's cruelty. Lockwood falls asleep and has vivid nightmares, including a terrifying encounter with the ghost of Catherine Linton, a child's spirit trying to enter through the window. His screams wake Heathcliff, who becomes deeply distraught and desperately calls out for Catherine. The next morning, Heathcliff guides Lockwood partway home through the treacherous snow-covered moors.

Recovering at Thrushcross Grange, Lockwood asks his housekeeper Mrs. Dean to explain the strange inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Mrs. Dean, who served at Wuthering Heights as a young woman, begins the family history. She recounts how Mr. Earnshaw brought home an orphan boy from Liverpool and named him Heathcliff. The Earnshaw children, Hindley and Catherine, initially resented the newcomer. However, Catherine soon became devoted to Heathcliff, while Hindley's hatred deepened. Mr. Earnshaw's obvious favoritism toward Heathcliff created lasting resentment and conflict within the household.

Mrs. Dean continues her narrative. As Mr. Earnshaw's health declined, he became increasingly irritable and fiercely protective of Heathcliff. To ease tensions, Hindley was sent away to college. Young Catherine was a wild, spirited, and mischievous child who adored Heathcliff and constantly tested her father's patience. One peaceful October evening, Mr. Earnshaw died quietly in his chair while Catherine sang to him. Catherine and Heathcliff were heartbroken and found comfort in each other, imagining their beloved guardian in heaven.

Hindley returns for his father's funeral with a mysterious wife, Frances. He takes control of Wuthering Heights and degrades Heathcliff to a servant, forbidding him an education and forcing him to work outdoors. Catherine and Heathcliff remain close, spending their days wild and free on the moors. One evening, they spy on Thrushcross Grange and observe the pampered Linton children, Edgar and Isabella. When discovered, Catherine is attacked by the family's bulldog. The Lintons take her in to care for her injured ankle, but Heathcliff is thrown out as a "gypsy" and sent home alone. Catherine stays at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks to recover.

Catherine returns from Thrushcross Grange transformed into a refined lady, elegantly dressed and mannered. Heathcliff, now dirty and neglected, feels ashamed of his appearance. When the Linton children visit for Christmas, Hindley deliberately humiliates Heathcliff. Edgar Linton makes a thoughtless comment about Heathcliff's appearance, prompting Heathcliff to throw hot applesauce at him and earning severe punishment. Catherine is torn between her refined new friends and her devotion to Heathcliff. That night, locked in the garret, Heathcliff vows revenge against Hindley. Mrs. Dean's narrative then jumps three years forward (to 1778) at Lockwood's insistence that she continue the full story.

Frances gives birth to a son, Hareton, but dies shortly afterward of consumption. Hindley becomes a violent, drunken tyrant, descending into reckless behavior. Heathcliff, mistreated by Hindley, grows increasingly bitter and savage. Catherine, now fifteen, develops a double personality: refined and courteous at Thrushcross Grange with Edgar Linton, but wild and willful at home with Heathcliff. Edgar begins courting Catherine, though she is torn between her two worlds. One day, when Edgar visits, Catherine quarrels with Heathcliff, cruelly telling him he's poor company. After Edgar arrives, tensions escalate, and Catherine loses her temper, striking both Mrs. Dean and little Hareton, and then slapping Edgar. Despite this violent display, Edgar returns and they become lovers.

Hindley, drunk and violent, nearly drops baby Hareton over the banister. Heathcliff catches the child, though he later regrets saving Hindley's son. That evening, Catherine confides in Mrs. Dean that Edgar has proposed marriage and she has accepted. When asked if she loves Edgar, Catherine gives superficial reasons: his looks, wealth, and status. She admits feeling it would "degrade" her to marry Heathcliff, who has been reduced to a servant. However, she then reveals her true feelings: she loves Heathcliff more deeply than anyone, declaring "I am Heathcliff" and that their souls are the same. Unbeknownst to Catherine, Heathcliff overhears only the degrading comment and flees into the storm. Catherine searches desperately for him all night in the rain. Heathcliff disappears completely. Catherine falls ill with fever, and during her convalescence at Thrushcross Grange, Mr. and Mrs. Linton catch the fever and die. Three years later, Catherine marries Edgar, and Mrs. Dean accompanies her to Thrushcross Grange.

Lockwood, recovering from illness, asks Mrs. Dean to continue her story. She resumes the narrative: Catherine has been happily married to Edgar at Thrushcross Grange for several months. One evening, Heathcliff returns after three years' absence, transformed into a gentleman—well-dressed, refined, and wealthy. Catherine is ecstatic at his return, while Edgar is coldly polite. Heathcliff reveals he's been invited to stay at Wuthering Heights by Hindley, likely to gamble and take advantage of Hindley's weakness. Catherine is overjoyed to have Heathcliff back, believing she can maintain both relationships. However, Isabella Linton develops an infatuation with Heathcliff. Catherine warns Isabella that Heathcliff is ruthless and dangerous, but Isabella refuses to listen. Heathcliff, learning Isabella is Edgar's heir, shows a calculating interest in her, suggesting sinister intentions.

Nelly visits Wuthering Heights and finds young Hareton transformed into a wild, cursing child under Heathcliff's influence. She witnesses Heathcliff embracing Isabella in the courtyard, leading to a violent confrontation between Heathcliff and Catherine about his intentions. When Edgar demands Heathcliff leave and never return, Catherine locks the door and refuses to let Edgar summon servants, throwing the key in the fire. The confrontation escalates when Edgar strikes Heathcliff, but Catherine's dramatic fit of hysteria ends the encounter, after which she locks herself in her room and refuses food for three days.

Catherine remains locked in her room for three days, fasting and growing increasingly delirious as Edgar and Isabella maintain their distance. When Nelly finally enters on the third day, she finds Catherine in a fevered, half-mad state, tearing pillow feathers and experiencing hallucinations of her childhood at Wuthering Heights. Catherine's mental breakdown intensifies as she mistakes her reflection for a ghost and speaks deliriously of Heathcliff and death. Edgar finally enters and is horrified to see how seriously ill his wife has become, and Dr. Kenneth warns that permanent mental damage is a greater danger than death. Nelly discovers Isabella has eloped with Heathcliff during the night of chaos.

Catherine survives her brain fever but is left permanently changed, physically weak and mentally fragile, while Edgar nurses her devotedly for two months. The narrative reveals Catherine is pregnant, giving hope for an heir to Thrushcross Grange. Isabella sends a letter announcing her marriage to Heathcliff and describing her miserable arrival at Wuthering Heights, where she encounters the degraded Hindley, the hostile Joseph, and the wild young Hareton. In her detailed account, Isabella describes Heathcliff's cruel treatment, his complete contempt for her, and his confession that he married her only for revenge against Edgar. The chapter ends with Nelly learning Isabella gave birth to a son named Linton, who was sickly from birth, and that Isabella eventually died when Linton was twelve years old.

Nelly visits Wuthering Heights with a message from Edgar that he forgives Isabella but wants no further contact with Heathcliff's household. Heathcliff interrogates Nelly about Catherine's condition and declares his obsessive love for her, insisting she thinks of him far more than of Edgar. Despite Nelly's resistance, Heathcliff forces her to agree to deliver a letter to Catherine and arrange a secret meeting, threatening to haunt the Grange every night until he sees her. Isabella appears degraded and miserable, and Heathcliff openly expresses his contempt for his wife, admitting he married her only for revenge and describing his cruel treatment of her. Heathcliff reveals his complete lack of pity and his determination to see Catherine regardless of the consequences.

Nelly arranges for Heathcliff to visit the dying Catherine while Edgar is at church. Catherine, now ethereally beautiful but clearly fading, has a passionate and painful reunion with Heathcliff filled with mutual accusations and desperate declarations of love. The two embrace violently, with Catherine blaming both Heathcliff and Edgar for breaking her heart, while Heathcliff accuses her of betraying their love by marrying Edgar. As Edgar returns home unexpectedly, Catherine refuses to release Heathcliff despite Nelly's warnings, and she faints in his arms. Heathcliff places the unconscious Catherine in Edgar's arms and reluctantly leaves, but vows to remain in the garden all night to wait for news of her condition.

Catherine gives birth to a premature daughter (also named Catherine) at midnight and dies two hours later without regaining consciousness. Nelly finds Heathcliff in the garden and tells him of Catherine's death, and he responds with a terrible curse, begging her ghost to haunt him rather than rest in peace. For several nights before the funeral, Heathcliff secretly enters the house to see Catherine's corpse, and Nelly discovers he has removed a lock of Edgar's hair from Catherine's locket and replaced it with his own. Catherine is buried not in the chapel with the Lintons nor with her family, but in a corner of the churchyard on the moor between both families. Edgar becomes a devoted father to baby Cathy, finding consolation in his daughter while living in seclusion and grief for his lost wife.

On the day of Catherine's funeral, a snowstorm transforms the landscape. Isabella suddenly appears at Thrushcross Grange, bleeding and disheveled, having fled from Wuthering Heights, and she narrates the events leading to her escape. She describes how Hindley, drunk and desperate, attempted to murder Heathcliff with a gun and knife when Heathcliff returned from his vigil at Catherine's grave, but Heathcliff overpowered and brutally beat him. Isabella, witnessing Heathcliff's grief over Catherine's death, taunted him cruelly about losing Catherine, provoking him to throw a knife at her, which gave her the opportunity to flee across the moors to safety. Isabella departs for the south of England where she later gives birth to a sickly son named Linton; shortly after, news arrives that Hindley has died drunk at age twenty-seven. Heathcliff, who holds the mortgage on Wuthering Heights, becomes master of the property and takes possession of young Hareton, deliberately raising him as an ignorant, degraded servant to revenge himself on Hindley.

The narrative jumps forward twelve years to describe young Cathy's upbringing as a beautiful, spirited, but sheltered girl who has never left the boundaries of Thrushcross Grange park. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, while Edgar is visiting the dying Isabella in London to fetch her son Linton, Cathy ventures beyond the park boundaries and reaches Wuthering Heights. Nelly finds her there happily chatting with the eighteen-year-old Hareton, who she assumes is a servant until she learns he is her cousin, which horrifies and distresses her. The encounter reveals Hareton's degraded condition under Heathcliff's deliberately cruel upbringing, as he has been kept illiterate and rough despite being the rightful heir to the property. Edgar returns with the pale, sickly Linton Heathcliff, but that very evening Joseph arrives to claim the boy for his father, and Edgar must surrender him the next morning despite knowing Heathcliff's intentions.

Edgar sends notice that Isabella has died and Cathy eagerly anticipates meeting her cousin Linton, whom Edgar brings home from London. Linton proves to be a pale, delicate, effeminate boy who resembles Edgar but has a sickly, peevish temperament, and he immediately disappoints Cathy with his weakness and constant complaining. That evening, Joseph arrives from Wuthering Heights demanding that Linton be turned over to his father Heathcliff immediately, but Edgar insists the exhausted child will come the next day. Despite Edgar's hopes that Linton might stay at the Grange, Heathcliff's legal claim as father cannot be contested.

Nelly takes the reluctant Linton to Wuthering Heights early the next morning, and the boy is confused and frightened to learn he has a father he never knew existed. When they arrive, Heathcliff greets his son with scorn and disgust at his weakness and resemblance to Isabella, though he declares he will keep and care for the boy since Linton is his tool for inheriting the Linton property at Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff reveals his plan to make Linton the heir to both the Earnshaw and Linton estates, thus gaining complete revenge on both families through Linton's prospective ownership. Despite his contempt for the frail child, Heathcliff promises to preserve Linton's health and gentleman status because of his value as an heir, and Nelly departs leaving the terrified boy crying for her not to abandon him.

Years pass, and Catherine reaches sixteen with no memory of Linton. Nelly learns that Linton lives in poor health at Wuthering Heights, where Heathcliff clearly dislikes him. On Catherine's sixteenth birthday, she and Nelly wander onto Heathcliff's land, where they encounter him and Hareton. Heathcliff manipulates them into visiting Wuthering Heights, where Catherine meets her cousin Linton for the first time since childhood. Heathcliff reveals his plan to marry the cousins so Linton can inherit, but forbids Catherine from telling her father about the visit. Despite Edgar's later explanation of Heathcliff's villainous nature, Catherine secretly begins exchanging love letters with Linton, which Nelly eventually discovers and burns.

Edgar Linton catches a severe cold that confines him indoors throughout the winter, weakening his health significantly. Catherine becomes melancholy after her romance with Linton is forbidden. During an autumn walk, Heathcliff intercepts Catherine and Nelly, claiming that Linton is dying of heartbreak over Catherine's abandonment. He manipulates Catherine's sympathy by insisting only she can save Linton's life. Despite Nelly's objections, Catherine's compassion is stirred by Heathcliff's claims. The next day, unable to bear the thought of Linton suffering, Nelly reluctantly accompanies Catherine to Wuthering Heights to verify Heathcliff's story.

Catherine and Nelly visit Wuthering Heights on a misty morning and find Linton ill and demanding, though he expresses happiness at seeing Catherine. The visit becomes contentious when Linton and Catherine argue about their fathers, leading Linton to claim that Catherine's mother loved Heathcliff. Catherine pushes Linton's chair in anger, causing him to have a severe coughing fit that frightens her. Linton manipulates Catherine's guilt by exaggerating his suffering and blaming her for his pain. After hours of his theatrical suffering and emotional manipulation, Catherine promises to return, demonstrating how Linton uses his illness to control her. Nelly falls ill for three weeks, during which Catherine secretly continues visiting Linton every evening.

When Nelly recovers from her illness, she discovers that Catherine has been secretly riding to Wuthering Heights every evening. Catherine confesses the whole story, revealing her nightly visits to see Linton, her developing affection for him, and several dramatic incidents including Hareton's violent outburst that caused Linton to cough up blood. Catherine describes Hareton's attempts to learn to read and her cruel mockery of his efforts, as well as Linton's manipulative and selfish behavior. Despite recognizing Linton's flaws, Catherine feels obligated to continue the relationship. Nelly betrays Catherine's confidence by immediately telling Edgar everything, and he forbids further visits to Wuthering Heights, though he offers to allow Linton to visit the Grange instead.

Mrs. Dean's narrative returns to the present, noting these events occurred the previous winter. Edgar's health continues to decline as he contemplates his approaching death and worries about leaving Catherine alone. On Catherine's seventeenth birthday, Edgar defers his usual visit to his wife's grave due to rain. He writes to Linton expressing desire to see him, and Linton's eloquent reply pleads for occasional meetings with Catherine. Moved by Linton's appeals and Catherine's persuasion, Edgar reluctantly agrees to supervised meetings on the moors near the Grange. Edgar has no idea that Heathcliff is tyrannically forcing the dying Linton to pursue Catherine with apparent eagerness, as part of his scheme to gain control of both estates through their marriage.

Catherine and Nelly ride out to meet Linton, who appears dramatically worse than before, frighteningly pale and weak. Linton can barely walk or sustain conversation, yet he desperately begs Catherine to stay, clearly terrified of his father's reaction if she leaves. Catherine notices Linton's strange behavior and suspects he is being compelled to meet her against his will. Linton's fear of Heathcliff is palpable as he glances nervously toward Wuthering Heights and insists Catherine report to Edgar that he is in good health. Despite Catherine's disappointment at finding Linton so changed and unresponsive, she agrees to return the following week. Nelly observes that Linton seems to be enduring the meeting as a forced task rather than enjoying Catherine's company.

As Edgar's health rapidly deteriorates, Catherine and Nelly make another visit to meet Linton. They find him in a state of terrified agitation, acting as a decoy for Heathcliff's trap. Heathcliff suddenly appears and forces Catherine and Nelly into Wuthering Heights, locking them inside. He reveals his plan to keep Catherine prisoner until she marries Linton, ensuring Heathcliff will inherit both properties when Edgar dies. When Catherine resists, Heathcliff violently strikes her. Despite Catherine's desperate pleas to be allowed to return to her dying father, Heathcliff keeps them imprisoned. The marriage takes place the next morning, and Nelly remains locked up for five days. Catherine finally escapes just in time to reach her father's deathbed, and Edgar dies peacefully believing she will be happy with Linton.

On the fifth morning of Nelly's imprisonment, Zillah releases her with news that Edgar is dying. Nelly finds Linton alone, now married to Catherine and callously claiming ownership of all her possessions while revealing that Catherine is locked upstairs. Nelly returns to Thrushcross Grange where Edgar, only thirty-nine but looking much younger, lies near death. Catherine escapes Wuthering Heights and reaches home just in time to see her father, who dies blissfully while kissing her cheek. The corrupt lawyer Mr. Green, who has been bribed by Heathcliff, arrives to take control and orders all servants except Nelly dismissed. He nearly prevents Edgar from being buried beside his wife, but Edgar's will specifies this arrangement. Catherine reveals that Linton, terrified of his father, helped her escape through a window by her mother's old room.

The evening after Edgar's funeral, Heathcliff arrives at Thrushcross Grange to claim Catherine, now legally under his control as Linton's wife. He coldly informs them that he has psychologically tortured Linton as punishment for helping Catherine escape. Heathcliff demands Catherine return to Wuthering Heights to care for Linton and work for her keep. When Catherine defies him, Heathcliff reveals his obsessive love for the elder Catherine, describing how he opened her coffin years ago and has been haunted by her presence ever since. He confesses to bribing the sexton to eventually remove the side of her coffin so they can be united in death. Heathcliff takes Catherine's mother's portrait and forces the young widow to accompany him back to Wuthering Heights, leaving Nelly devastated at the Grange.

Nelly attempts to visit Catherine at Wuthering Heights but is turned away by Joseph. She learns from the housekeeper Zillah about Catherine's miserable existence there. When Catherine arrived, Linton was already dying, and Heathcliff refused to call a doctor or provide any assistance. Catherine nursed Linton alone until his death, after which Heathcliff showed her Linton's will leaving all property to him. Catherine, now destitute and friendless, remains isolated upstairs for two weeks after Linton's funeral. When she finally comes downstairs, she treats Zillah and Hareton with contempt, rejecting their offers of kindness and company. Zillah describes Catherine's bitter, proud demeanor and her cruel dismissal of Hareton's attempts at friendship. Mrs. Dean's narrative ends, and Lockwood, now recovered, announces he will return to London and not renew his lease.

Lockwood visits Wuthering Heights to inform Heathcliff he will not renew his lease. He brings a note from Nelly to Catherine, which Hareton intercepts out of duty to Heathcliff. Catherine treats both Lockwood and Hareton with cold disdain, though Hareton's feelings soften and he returns the note to her. Catherine cruelly mocks Hareton's attempts to educate himself by reading, laughing at his struggles with difficult words. Lockwood tries to defend Hareton, explaining that everyone struggles when learning, but Catherine dismisses this and continues her mockery. In retaliation and humiliation, Hareton throws his precious books into Catherine's lap, declaring he never wants to see them again, and then hurls them into the fire, destroying his means of self-improvement. Heathcliff arrives and notes with disturbed fascination how much Hareton resembles the elder Catherine.

In September 1802, Lockwood unexpectedly passes near Gimmerton and impulsively decides to visit Thrushcross Grange. He finds Mrs. Dean has moved to Wuthering Heights and learns that Heathcliff has died. At Wuthering Heights, Lockwood secretly observes Catherine teaching Hareton to read, their heads bent together in obvious affection and mutual attraction. Nelly begins recounting what happened after Lockwood left. She explains that Heathcliff summoned her to Wuthering Heights to keep Catherine company. Catherine, confined to the garden and lonely, initially tormented Hareton with cruel remarks about his ignorance and manners. However, her conscience troubled her for having destroyed his ambition to learn. Gradually, Catherine began trying to reconcile with Hareton, and on Easter Monday she made a determined effort to befriend him, eventually offering to teach him to read and giving him a beautifully wrapped book, which he tearfully accepted.

Catherine and Hareton's friendship rapidly develops into romance as she teaches him to read and he assists with her garden. Their growing affection becomes obvious to everyone, causing Heathcliff visible distress despite his careful indifference. When Joseph discovers they have destroyed his prized currant bushes to plant flowers, he complains bitterly to Heathcliff, who barely responds. During breakfast, Heathcliff erupts in fury at Catherine for staring at him, but his anger suddenly dissipates when he nearly strikes her. Heathcliff sees the elder Catherine in both young people's eyes and faces, which torments him profoundly. He confesses to Nelly that he has lost all desire for revenge and can no longer enjoy destroying his enemies' descendants. Heathcliff describes being consumed by a strange obsession, seeing Catherine Earnshaw's image everywhere and feeling her presence constantly, making him indifferent to everything else in life.

Heathcliff begins behaving strangely, refusing food and wandering at night with an expression of terrible joy and anticipation. He tells Nelly he is on the threshold of attaining his heaven and wishes to be left alone. His behavior becomes increasingly disturbed as he appears to see and communicate with an invisible presence, staring fixedly at something only he can perceive. After several days of this strange excitement and self-imposed starvation, Heathcliff is found dead in Catherine Earnshaw's old room, lying on the bed with the window open and rain pouring in. His eyes remain open with a frightful expression of exultation that cannot be closed. Heathcliff is buried according to his wishes next to Catherine Earnshaw, with the side of her coffin removed so they can mingle in death. Nelly concludes her story by revealing that Catherine and Hareton plan to marry on New Year's Day and move to Thrushcross Grange, while local people claim to see Heathcliff's ghost wandering the moors.