Balaban, a soldier in the Janissary army, settles in Moena in northern Italy after the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and fights for the rights of the local people.

Balaban, a soldier in the Janissary army, which consisted of European slaves who had converted to Islam, serves as an Ottoman intelligence officer. The Ottoman army loses the Battle of Vienna in 1683, and he is taken prisoner. After he escapes, he is found wounded and rescued by the people of Moena, a small town in northern Italy. He settles there and organizes a peasant uprising against the feudal overlords who oppressed and overtaxed the people. Knowing his Ottoman origins, they nicknamed him El Turco.—il

The Battle of Vienna marked the end of the Ottoman Empire's Westward expansion and for one Janissary, Balaban Agha, it meant whole new life. Before the battle was lost, Balaban was condemned to death in a brutal act of betrayal. He manages to escape but is greatly injured. When Balaban regains consciousness he find himself in the remove village of Moena, high in Italian Alps. The woman who finds him and nurses him to health, Gloria, is the first of many villagers to show Balaban kindness and not before long he settles to his new home. El Turco becomes protector of the village, when he realizes that the villagers are terrorized by feudal lords and his taxes. Things escalate until one of his ruthless enemies knight of Torento Marco Benedetti di Vicenza turns up. Balaban must assemble a team for a final showdown. A witch turns into a healer, a homeless girl becomes first female Janissary and one arm-armed blacksmith emerges as the village savior to help El Turco to fight for Moena and for freedom to love freely.—Prensario International

The westward expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe, especially into the lands of the Habsburg Empire, came to an abrupt end in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the second siege of the city by Ottoman forces. For a Janissary who took part in the siege, this marked the beginning of a completely new life. Before the Ottoman army loses the battle, Hasan Balaban is betrayed and sentenced to death. In his attempt to escape execution, he is seriously injured. He is nursed back to health by a woman from Moena, a remote village high in the Italian Alps. Many of the villagers of Moena are friendly towards him and he decides to make this Italian village his new home. Knowing his connection to the Ottoman Empire, the villagers call him El Turco. Balaban helps the villagers to defend themselves against the high taxes levied by their feudal lord and becomes their protector. The hostility between the villagers led by Balaban and the feudal lord escalates when Marco Benedetti di Vicenza, Balaban's old enemy, appears as the overlord's knight and Balaban is forced to assemble a team of soldiers for the final battle. A one-armed blacksmith becomes Balaban's most important ally, a witch transforms into a healer and a homeless girl becomes the first female Janissary as they fight to protect Moena.