The great Turkish empire of the seventeenth century, the most powerful of its day, was ruled by women who had been brought to Constantinople as slaves for the Sultan's pleasure-but used their slavery to acquire power on a global scale. This is the story of one such woman. . . .

The harem slave Safiye, "the Fair One" as she is known, is the embodiment of beauty-and ambition. With her perfumed body and bewitching eyes, she rules the men who own her. She controls the Empire from within the veiled harem walls, her web of intrigue reaching far beyond Constantinople and into Europe. Her touch is felt in wars, acts of sabotage, and the machinations of both European and Asian politics. The aim of her ambition? To see that her son becomes ruler of the Ottoman Empire. She will allow nothing to stand in her way.