A Venetian noblewoman and an Italian sailor are captured by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery in the 16th century Ottoman Empire. *Sofia* begins a brilliant new historical series featuring the women of the Ottoman Empire. *Sofia* caused a sensation in Turkey where it spent over six months on the bestsellers list. Real historical figures come to life in the exotic sixteenth-century Ottoman world of intrigue and opulence Turks call *The Reign of the Favored Women*: An ambitious young noblewoman from Venice captured by corsairs and sold into the Sultan's harem vows her future will hold more than sexual slavery. And the young man who sets out to rescue her is asked a price higher than a man can be expected to pay.