The series starts during the 20th year of the sultan's reign. They are planning a big project, the Hejaz Railway. However, the Sultan's brother-in-law, Mahmut Paşa, the Brits, and Theodore Herzl are trying to sabotage this project. In the harem, on the other hand, a strong rivalry between Bidar Sultan and Seniha Sultan extends to their family. Also, the sultan's brother Murad's daughters come to the palace. His eldest daughter, Hatice Sultan, falls in love with Kemalettin Paşa and plans to marry him while on the other hand Naime Sultan, the Sultan's daughter, also is in love with Kemalettin and tries to win his heart, eventually getting ill. Hatice Sultan with her love for Naime pretends that Kemalettin loves Naime by giving a Naime a letter which Kemalettin had written to Hatice. Mahmut Paşa, Seniha Sultan's husband, piles slander upon slander on Mehmet Paşa, Bidar Sultan's brother, eventually getting him exiled.