Taking up the baton from the hit SBS series “Defendant,” which ended its 18-episode run last week, the new revenge drama “Whisper” is off to a strong start, leading in ratings with 13.9 percent, according to Nielsen Korea.

Its first episode, aired Monday at 10 p.m. on SBS, set the tone for a dark tale of ambition and vindication. Actress Lee Bo-young returns to the small screen after her role as a feisty prosecutor in the 2013 show “I Can Hear Your Voice,” this time as policewoman Shin Young-joo, who looks into a murder case in which her father is a suspect. 

Shin’s father receives a phone call from a colleague and rushes over, only to discover he has been killed. The police, however, arrest him at the scene. Shin, meanwhile, points to Choi Il-hwan (Kim Kap-soo), the ruthless head of the law firm Taebaek, as the chief suspect.

The judge presiding over the trial is actor Lee Dong-joon, played by Lee Sang-yoon, who led the romantic drama “On the Way to the Airport” last year. Lee Dong-joon is reputed to be a judge with conviction, but ultimately caves in to blackmail from the law firm. He sentences Shin’s father to 15 years in prison, and Shin vows revenge.

The episode ends with Shin seducing a drunk Dong-joon and threatening him with sexual abuse charges.

Penned by Park Kyung-soo and directed by Lee Myung-woo, the show will air Mondays and Tuesdays on SBS.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)