adnan ziyagil lives an idyllic life on the shore of istanbul's bosporus strait with his two children, teenage daughter nihal and eleven-year-old son bülent, his nephew behlül, and various house staff. behlül, son of adnan's cousin, moved in after his parents died in a car accident when he was young. ms deniz decourton is the children's nanny and she has been living in the household long before the death of adnan's wife.