The narrative moves back one month earlier. Sibel sees a Jenny Colon-branded handbag she admires in a shop window. Hoping to surprise her, Kemal returns to the shop, the Şanzelize Boutique, to buy it for her. Füsun is the store clerk. Her beauty stuns Kemal. After reminding her of their relationship, Kemal learns that Füsun is preparing to take her university entrance exams.

Leaving the store, Kemal fantasizes about kissing Füsun, a thought he tries to push away.

Kemal mentions Füsun to his mother, Vecihe, who used to be fond of Füsun’s family but came to look down on them for letting Füsun join a beauty contest, which she assumes is a sign of promiscuity. Vecihe remembers Füsun’s mother, Nesibe, as a seamstress who, though poor, often found work with affluent families, including their own.

Kemal works for his father, Mümtaz’s export firm, Satsat, using his American business education to manage operations. Whenever Sibel visits Kemal in his office, Kemal tries to convince her to have sex. Sibel discourages it because she is afraid of being seen as promiscuous before marriage, though they have already had sex in the past and are committed to getting married.

At a popular French restaurant called Fuaye, Kemal suggests meeting regularly at his mother’s spare unit at Merhamet Apartments. Sibel declines, fearing it will delay their marriage plans. Kemal gives Sibel the handbag, but Sibel disappoints him by explaining that it is a fake. Sibel reassures him and urges him to seek a refund.

Returning to the boutique, Kemal is again stunned to see Füsun, but this time he realizes it is because they resemble each other, which he takes as a sign that he deeply understands her. When Kemal requests his refund, Füsun becomes upset. Moved by Füsun’s tears, Kemal ends up embracing her. He becomes dizzy with desire.

Kemal offers to exchange the item instead of seeking his refund. When Füsun insists on the refund, Kemal instructs her to bring the money to him at the Merhamet Apartments, later feeling ashamed of himself.

Kemal visits the Merhamet Apartments every day, awaiting Füsun. Füsun finally comes on the third day. Since it is raining, she accepts Kemal’s invitation to come inside. The apartment inspires Füsun’s memories of childhood. Kemal admits that he has often thought of her beauty since their last encounter. Füsun tries to hasten her departure, but Kemal insists that she finish her tea. He kisses her, leading them to flirt.

Füsun shares her ambition to become an actress, but cites her university studies as a priority. Kemal offers to help her prepare for her entrance exams. When the rain stops, Kemal invites her to come again. Füsun politely declines, but hints that she may come anyway.

Kemal and Sibel are invited to a party being thrown by one of Kemal’s friends, Zaim, who is launching a new fruit soda called Meltem. Sibel enjoys the company of Kemal’s rich friends, but isn’t particularly fond of Zaim, who has the reputation of being a playboy. When Kemal tells Sibel that he is not feeling well enough to attend the party, Sibel protests, much to Kemal’s surprise. Kemal tries to forget about Füsun.

Füsun returns to the apartment the following day and has sex for the first time with Kemal. Years later, Kemal collects the objects Füsun interacted with in the apartment and displays them in his museum to memorialize the affection she showed him.

Kemal reiterates his offer to tutor Füsun. She accepts.

At a party, Kemal sees Sibel chatting with Zaim and is happy to see them getting along. He tries to reconcile this feeling against his mutual desire with Füsun. Sibel observes that Kemal looks upset, which Kemal denies.

The novel flashes back six years earlier to a celebration of the Feast of the Sacrifice at the Basmacı residence. Füsun is 12, and Kemal is 24. When Kemal is ordered to fetch liqueurs from a nearby store, he calls Füsun to accompany him. Kemal tries to explain the meaning behind the sacrifice to Füsun, citing the biblical story of God’s request to Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, to prove his devotion. Since Abraham was ready to sacrifice the thing he loved most in the world, God spared Ismail. Kemal concludes that love means trusting that the lover will not allow their beloved to experience harm.

Kemal’s quest for liqueurs takes them around the city. When Kemal asks the help of his family driver, Çetin, to explain the sacrifice to Sibel, Çetin clarifies that one makes the sacrifice out of love, not expectation of a reward. Füsun sees a man selling lambs on the street and tries to convince the men to buy them to save them from sacrifice. Çetin cautions her that subverting God’s will may condemn their souls.

Before returning home, the group comes upon a gruesome car accident that kills several people.

Kemal and Füsun continue their sexual affair. Kemal’s brother, Osman, notices that Kemal looks distracted.

Kemal and Füsun enjoy kissing for its own sake, not just because they are attracted to one another. Kemal begins to wonder if he is in love with Füsun. The next day, he resolves to end their affair and tutor her more seriously. Füsun proves to be an arrogant, indifferent student, and her seductive manners lead them to have sex again. Kemal realizes that Füsun enjoys sex, delighting in her own body.

Sibel gifts Kemal a fragrance that Füsun notices on their next encounter. Kemal claims that he bought the fragrance himself to please Füsun. Füsun repeatedly asks him to be honest about whether he is still having sex with Sibel. Kemal insists that he isn’t, explaining that their intimate encounters no longer feel as joyful as they used to be. He admonishes Füsun to realize that Sibel is less modern than she is. Much later, he realizes that he had accidentally insulted Füsun with this comparison.

Füsun remains skeptical that Kemal and Sibel aren’t having any sex. Even when Kemal argues that he has no reason to lie to her at this stage of their relationship, Füsun suspects that he has. This frustrates Kemal, who remains committed to the idea of happiness with Sibel. Nevertheless, he continues to reflect on the pleasures of his affair.

Füsun enumerates the various older men whose sexual desire she was able to perceive, beginning from her childhood. These men would find different excuses to sexually harass her, which made her aware of sexuality at a young age. As she grew older, she learned to see how these actions exposed the men’s vulnerabilities, which she leveraged to avoid further abuse.

As Kemal listens to Füsun’s stories, he begins to feel jealousy. Füsun assures him that she has never been in love with anyone, which she believes is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The closest she got was with a man named Turgay, whom Kemal recognizes as his family’s business associate. She repeatedly turned his advances down because she had not yet turned 18. She only turned 18 two weeks before Kemal entered her shop.

Kemal wrestles with the thought of being in love with Füsun by telling himself he merely feels envy for her other suitors. The next time they have sex, Kemal notices himself trying to “master” Füsun.

Kemal explains the anthropological reasons behind his desire to “master” Füsun. In 1975, the clash between Turkish tradition and modernity signaled a shift in attitudes toward the value of the concept of “virginity.” The prevailing thought privileged chastity and the institution of marriage. The burden fell on men to protect their female partners’ honor by seeking marriage themselves. If a man refused to protect the woman’s honor, the family would try to seek resolution in court, but this would publicize the embarrassment on both sides of the relationship.

Culturally, women are vilified for having premarital sex with a man without any intention of marrying them. It is the habit of many curious young men to go looking for such women, whom they suspect to inhabit the cosmopolitan district of Nişantaşı, which is precisely where Kemal and Füsun met.

Kemal alters the invitation list for his engagement party, striking out Turgay’s name and including the names of Füsun and her family. On the way home from dinner at Sibel’s family home, Vecihe comments that Sibel’s house is poorly maintained.

Kemal walks to Füsun’s house later that night, hoping to ensure that she isn’t spending the night with anyone else. The next day, Kemal realizes that dealing with his obsession with Füsun threatens the possibility of his happy marriage with Sibel.