An Ottoman Saga is a passionate love story set against the background of the great Ottoman Empire in its years of decline and of Europe in turmoil war revolution the birth pangs of nationalism and democracy marked by the leaders and personalities who transformed the face of the nineteenth century and paved the way to the world wars of the twentieth century: Sultan Abdülmecid I Emperor Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie Cavour Garibaldi Emperor Franz-Joseph Disraeli the Rothschilds Florence Nightingale Kaiser Wilhelm II Otto von Bismarck Sultan Abdülhamid II among others.

Anchoring the multicultural city of Istanbul at the heart of her narrative Lâtife Mardin transports the reader from the Crimean War to the magnificient capitals of Europe and intertwines East and West in a historical tale of romance and intrigue as Cynthia and Jonathan strive to be united against all odds.