Tainted Love

Great Turkish drama with lots of promise that is ended too soon. In fact, the show has a somewhat unfinished feel at the end of episode 9 (the show's conclusion). Leke tells the story of Yasmin a young orphan who has a deaf half-brother that she is desperately trying to get custody of and pay for a surgery for. She works for an event planning company that unbeknownst to her has a darker side business providing escorts of which (also unbeknownst to Yasmin) her roommate and childhood friend from the orphanage Shirin works for. She meets Cem while working an event for the company he works for. One of his co workers gets very drunk and tries to accost her. To keep her quiet Cem offers her money for which she slaps him. This starts a series of misunderstandings between Cem and Yasmin in which Cem, because of his past experiences with his mother, always assumes the worst of Yasmin. This Turkish series is very short at just 9 episodes and it deals with some very dark topics: prostitution, police corruption, murder, abuse, orphanages, jealousy, sibling rivalry, adultery, poverty, theft, stalking, invasion of privacy, indenturing, entrapment, kidnapping, etc. There are some beautiful romantic moments...but more dark moments in this drama. It really keeps you on the edge as more and more bad things happen to Yasmin...and more men try to take advantage. Might be a tough series for women to watch, but there are some hero's in this story. I recommend this only if you are ok with a less than conclusive finish.