Archaeology, goats and dogs, honor, ethics, lies and betrayals are part and parcel of all that happens when two cultures abrade. When a young American archaeologist runs from his impending marriage and secure future, and finds himself in the traditional world of a Cretan village, he is forced to confront the feelings he has avoided all his life: rage, fear, envy, and shame, as he becomes the central pawn in a vicious family vendetta. During World War II, the village suffered terrible reprisals at the hands of the Nazis. The present day priest is the grandson of the priest at that time. He works to heal the deep wounds remaining from the war. Love, loyalty, power, and death all pass through the days of the story as it unfolds across the face of western Crete.