Madame K

- Season 1

(2018)

October 1st, 1939. Madam Kukk, hostess of a small elite brothel, buys a villa on the outskirts of Tallinn, Estonia, which has been deserted by the departing Baltic Germans. She's been getting help in obtaining the house by Foreign Ministry counselor Mr Metsla, a friend and suitor of Mrs Kukk. Mrs Kukk and her girls - assistant Renate, feisty Monika, cool but elegant Vivian, offspring of Russian aristocrats Anastassia and simple-minded country girl Linda, settle in the new house. Mr Metsla arrives unexpectedly with high Russian guests - admiral Tributs and major ...

October 2nd, 1939. The paths of Russian majors and Baltic Germans cross in the club. Anastassia and Linda both have hurtful experiences. Two new girls, Carola and Maria arrive, both carrying dark secrets. An unexpected guest, a young American, visits the house and ties his destiny to the girls and to Estonia alike.

October - November 1939. The atmosphere in the house is turned "more soviet friendly" by some vital changes. Mrs. Kukk starts to investigate the secrets of a new housemaid, Carola, and the findings are unexpected. The American, Henry, seems to be too interested in the brothel. The secret of the house starts to unravel.

November 1939. The Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union spreads fear also in Estonia. Carola reveals the whole dark secret about the house. The motives of counselor Metsla to move the brothel here will become more clear. Mrs. Kukk has to face down a gun, and becomes aware of a secret, which she finds too hard to keep.

December 1939. The winter night sky is lighted up by the bombings over Finland. A row of strange guests arrive at the gentleman's club. Several critical situations demand witty solutions. Maria gets an offer she can't refuse. The year is waved off and a new decade, the hopefully better '40s, are welcomed with a quiet party.

January - February - March 1940. Imprisoned by the terrible cold, the girls start to knit pullovers for the boys going to the war in Finland. Metsla arranges a meeting between Maria and the British agent Sandy McKibbin. Some Olympic winners stop by the Gentlemen's Club; one of them finds his lost love, Renate, working in the brothel.

May - June 1940. A jealous wife's unexpected visit to the house creates a crisis. Metsla arranges an intimate meeting between Maria and Henry, who is brought to Estonia on a dangerous international mission. The beginning of the Soviet occupation is a matter of days away. Henry proposes to Maria to leave Estonia with him.

June 1940. Mrs Kukk decides not to tell the girls about the tragedy in the brothel. Metsla plans to form Mrs Kukk's Gentlemen's Club as working youth refresher school, saving the brothel from the claws of the harassment of the Soviet establishment. The girls have conflicts based on their political views. The situation in the city is getting bloody.

June - July 1940. All the girls' nerves stretched and the conflicts easy to erupt. They attend a communist election circus, where Metsla meets a former abandoned lover, now a comrade in power. A Russian actor brings a strange gift. A new beauty, Alice, arrives to the club. Metsla organizes new political work.

August - September 1940. A postman brings some miserable news. Mrs. Kukk starts to suspect she has a united past with a new girl Alice. The house echoes to shots again. Anastassia suspects the hidden truth and confronts Mrs Kukk with hurtful questions. The new political decisions demolish Estonian independence once and for all.