22 years ago, Hülya, the daughter of powerful Aegean lord Ali Hikmet, ran away with Erdem on the day of her wedding. They were caught by Ali Hikmet Bey and Erdem was killed, along with Ali Hikmet's own son Ahmet. Hülya's baby (Zeynep) however was saved by Zülfikar (Ali Hikmet's stable man), who claimed her as his own. Hülya was secretly married to an Arab, and her father took revenge by killing his sister's husband Ismail who was responsible for the death of Ahmet.