A former cinematographer, Panos Karkanevatos has constructed a ravishing portrait of the stark contrast between rural and urban life in modern Greece. The protagonist is an illiterate shepherd who lives in the wilds of Macedonia, on the Balkan border—where life is pure and people still live close to the elements. He develops a passionate relationship with a local girl but must flee to the city when her family violently rejects him. There he becomes acquainted with the corrupting influences of urban life and becomes involved with a vulnerable young Russian woman en route to Canada. A subsequent meeting with his former lover reveals that the changes in both their lives have made a return to innocence impossible.