Confined to his home on sick-leave (and prevented from sneaking his beloved brandy and cigars), Inspector Ikmen of the Istanbul police is forced to hand his latest case over to his protege, the newly promoted Suleyman. That’s too bad, because the aristocratic Suleyman knows nothing about Arabesk, the throbbing, deeply sentimental music that is adored by Turkey’s working classes, and the case is drenched in those mournful melodies. The latest musical sensation, a secret marriage, a murdered bride, an aging mistress and a father driven mad with grief and guilt…
it’s all so melodramatic that Suleyman can barely keep his lip from curling. Ikmen is unashamed of his own plebeian tastes, but both cops eventually come to one conclusion: At the real heart of this operatic catastrophe are the conf licts inherent to the city itself.