The Favorite 1989 At the dawn of the 19th century, a young French woman is kidnapped and forced into a sultans harem in Turkey Fiercely independent, she resists, but must make choices in order to survive She begins to influence the sultan toward more fair manners of solving his conflicts, but finds herself at odds with another of his wives, who wants her son Mustafa to become the new sultan As the years pass, she must deal with the new sultans advances while protecting her adopted son Mahmud, and helping the Sultanate against the Russians who have modern weapons