The novella is set in Myrivilis’ home village of Sykamnia on the island of Lesbos in the first decade of this century. At that time the island had a mixed population of Greeks and Turks who, although they lived in the same villages, nevertheless conducted their affairs separately. The Greeks, who were in the majority, resented not being their own masters and dreamed of the day when they would break free from Turkish rule and unite with mainland Greece. That day came on the 8th of November, 1912, and with it came the end of four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. The action, then, is set in the final days of Greek and Turkish coexistence on the island, and in some ways celebrates that unique life-style which blended East with West, Christianity with Islam, and produced a prominent subculture of heroic young men who enjoyed living close to the edge and owed allegiance to no one but themselves. (From the introduction by Pavlos Andronikos)