Kösem has been the all-powerful Valide Sultan and regent to her son Sultan Murad IV for nearly a decade, when the military unrest causes the latter to deprive her of her authority and the two clash. With the control of the state fully in his hands, Murad sets his plans of restoring the empire to the times of prosperity and conquest and checking corruption in motion. At the same time, the Hungarian princess Farya Bethlen seeks refuge at the Ottoman court and the instant attraction between her and the Sultan causes reactions. A strain is also put on Murad's relationship with his sister Gevherhan after the execution of her husband, as well as in hers with their mother, when she eventually opts for love instead of power games. Their half-brother and Crown Prince, Bayezid, though loyal himself to the sultan, is drawn in conflict too, due to the ambitions of his mother, Gülbahar, who has been long obscured by Kösem; all the while the other princes' and infidels' agendas remain unknown and anti-Ottoman sentiments and plans resurface in the West.
