Meet Vlada Koza*, a feisty Ukrainian woman in her late thirties. Out of job, out of money, out of luck, she travels to Italy and lands a job as a housekeeper in a wealthy Italian home. She finds herself in the very heart of an influential mafia family in crisis. They all end up getting more than they bargained for. The family doesn’t just get a skilled housemaid but a wise advisor who won’t hesitate to take initiative when called (or even uncalled) for. The Ukrainian woman will learn Italian and the code of conduct, will win the trust of the boss and become his secret “consigliere”. All this happens because, you see, Vlada is not as simple as she looks: back in Ukraine she used to run a successful smuggling operation until one day her life took an unexpected turn and she had to leave Ukraine in a hurry. Through all the troubles and tribulations both Vlada and the Italian family will come out stronger and learn from each other in this feel good fish out of water story of how immigrants make our lives richer. *Koza means ‘goat’ in Ukrainian. It’s Vlada’s nickname and also a pun on Cosa Nostra.

Koza Nostra is a project created by Anastasia Lodkina and Kateryna Vyshnevska and produced by FILM.UA Group. It is one of the projects presented at MIA|TV Drama Series Pitching Forum. For more information on this and other projects, click here.