During the sea battle which took place between the Ottoman Empire and the Italians, a ship which had been seized in the Mediterranean Sea is brought to Istanbul, and a young wounded lady named Francesca, the daughter of the killed Captain, becomes a slave for Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi.

When the devastating Kocaeli earthquake occurs, the Turkish government passes a special law allowing people to complete their military service in a month.

An American in Istanbul gets entangled in the affairs of a melancholic aristocrat and her son Haldun, leading him slowly into a dangerous web through many secret layers of the city.