The events of the series unfold in an old Cairo neighborhood through Ali Al-Ajami, an elderly, lame man feared by everyone, who gets to know Obada, a delivery worker, after saving him from being chased by thugs from the Hikr neighborhood following a gambling brawl. Obada meets Ghazi Abu Jabal, Ajami's childless, wealthy uncle, who cares for the poor youth of Al-Hikr and finds them jobs. Consequently, Malak—who was abandoned by her husband while pregnant—and her daughter Houreya work as maids in his mansion. Malak treats her son Obada coldly, unlike his sister Houreya, who is seventeen years his senior and treats him with affection, constantly worrying about him. Obada eventually discovers that Houreya is his biological mother, having given birth to him after being raped by an unknown assailant, and that her mother Malak claimed the baby as her own after suffering a miscarriage to avoid scandal. Obada grows close to Ajami, who teaches him some of his craft and asks him to murder Ghazi so his wealth will pass to him. Obada agrees, particularly because he loves Ajami's daughter Faten, but he backs out at the last moment and cannot bring himself to commit the murder. Ajami becomes furious and decides to marry Faten to Obada's friend Tahseen, who granted all his demands for her hand. Meanwhile, the plot introduces Anhar, daughter of Hekmat, who had married Ghazi's late brother Saqr long before Anhar's birth; after Saqr's death, Hekmat's brother seized her inheritance and married her off to Anhar's weak-willed father. Anhar develops deep resentment toward all men and resolves to swindle them by posing as a flirtatious woman who meets young men, robs them, and flees. Obada rescues her from an assault attempt by a young man, and she falls in love with him. Following Malak's death, Ghazi Abu Jabal marries Houreya and proposes to Anhar, but she turns down his offer.
- CategoriesDrama
