Matroesjka's

- Season 1

(2005)

Women trader Ray Van Mechelen and his companion Mark Camps organize dance auditions in Vilnius, Lithuania. They claim to be recruiting dancers for touring the top nightclubs in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany. A local 'talent scout' is hired to keep up the appearances and win the trust of the candidates. Meanwhile, the bodies of two Russian prostitutes are found near Antwerp in Belgium. All traces lead back to the gang of Ray Van Mechelen. The police interrogates a henchman of Van Mechelen, Mike Simons, who is willing to talk, but he wants guarantees that he will...

On the Greek island of Cyprus, the recruited dancers take part in 'dance education sessions', and all illusions of a bright and fortunate future disappear for the girls. The gang of Van Mechelen forces the girls to striptease dance in a local nightclub. Olga and Deborah however manage to escape. Mike Simons reports at the police station in Antwerp and provides information about the criminal activities of Van Mechelen and his gang. Inspector De Donder however remains remarkably skeptical, and denies Simons witness protection. Journalist Nico Maes publishes a revealing ...

The police quickly finished the investigation on the murder of Mike Simons. After Mike's death, Esther has no other choice than to move in with Jan Verplancke. Laura suspects Clem De Donder that he passes police information to the criminal organization of Ray Van Mechelen. The new Eastern European girls finally arrive in Antwerp, but they are not allowed to leave Studio 69, the nightclub of the criminal organization. Van Mechelen explains the girls clearly what he expects from them. It goes terribly wrong on the first evening already, when Deborah attacks one of the ...

The gang picks up Russian girl Inga from a bar in Limburg and brings her back to Studio 69. Inga was brought to Belgium some time ago, in a previous batch of girls from Eastern Europe. Kalinka is not amused at all about Inga's return to Studio 69. Daria convinces Nico Maes to smuggle a letter from her outside the nightclub. However, he gets caught in the process. As long as Deborah refuses to have sex with her new 'owner', she remains imprisoned on the attic. John Dockx finds out that Jan Verplancke lets Esther work for him in a bar, which is against the rules. Ray ...

The gang wants to sell six girls to a Dutch nightclub owner. Marc Camps has to negotiate about the price, but he allows himself to get bribed. The police organizes a raid in Studio 69, but the gang was informed of this ahead of time. Kalinka and Inga are taken to the police station for interrogation. The position of inspector Clem De Donder gets untenable. Even his partner Laura does not trust him anymore. Esther picks up her stuff at Jan Verplancke, but he wants revenge.

Irina hides at the residence of Peter Jones, the club's handyman. His wife is very upset with Irina's presence and calls the police. Inspector Clem De Donder is being suspended by the Internal Affairs department. His managers suspect him to have connections with the criminal gang of Van Mechelen. Meanwhile, Jan Verplancke is recruited back into the gang, and allowed to participate in the gang activities. Journalist Nico Maes again publishes a revealing article, this time on the front page of the newspapers. The gang gets very nervous about this publicity. Ray recruits...

The girls now are 3 months in Belgium, and the police is watching all the activities around Studio 69 very close. Customers leaving the premises are systematically subjected to search, and in the end, the customers simply stay away. The gang gets in problems because of the lack of income. Ray asks Jan Verplancke to start up an escort service agency, to generate some profit. A customer falls in love with Eva, and wants to take over her contract. After a fight with the police, Ray and Vincent are arrested.

Ray and Vincent increasingly disagree with the way how business should be done within the club. Vincent intents to kick Ray out as a business partner. To accomplish this, he proposes lucrative deals to Jan and Eddy. Daria's savings money is missing, and the other girls suspect Deborah to be the thief. Wim Wilson bought Eva's contract and starts a relationship with her. His parents are not happy when Eva is introduced to them. When Vincent abuses Kalinka, he gets into a big conflict with Ray.

Three months have passed. Eva has a small job in a fast food bar. Nico Maes eventually persuades Eva into a conversation with police inspector Sierens. But Eva is too stubborn to file a complaint against the gang. Since the incident between Ray and Vincent, the business relationship between Ray and John has cooled down a lot. The trust amongst the gang members has disappeared completely. Daria finds out that her best friend Kasandra was killed in Vilnius, by command of Ray. Multiple girls are arrested at the club, as there seems to be problems with their visa. Eddy ...

After the funeral of John Dockx, Vincent and Ray have a very difficult conversation together. Vincent offers Ray a very unexpected proposition. Eddy is getting increasingly confined by now. He is being accused of accounting fraud. Ray suddenly breaks up his relationship with Kalinka. She feels humiliated by his actions, and is looking for revenge. A good way of hurting him is by using her knowledge about the criminal activities of Ray and his gang.