In 1627, Lilja's simple life in a remote Icelandic village is shattered when Ottoman corsairs descend in a violent raid. Captured with her young son, she soon learns that the long sea voyage pales in comparison to what awaits them in the slave markets of Algiers.

The fiery heat and restless bustle of the Ottoman-controlled city is beyond anything Lilja could have imagined from the cool tranquility of her homeland. When the Dey purchases Lilja as a concubine, she is sent to his harem and torn from her son. As she struggles to survive in this foreign land, she has only one purpose…to find her child again.