As Georgios Vizneyos, one of Greece's greatest authors, degenerates in an Athens mental asylum, the tale of another story-teller, his grandfather, begins to emerge through his mad ramblings. This lavish film recreates (through his own words) the writer's childhood life, rich with fantasy and legend. Apprenticed to a tailor, young Georgios' mind is filled with his grandfather fairy tales. He ponders the hill from which one can climb into the sky and waits each day for the chance to bring clothes to the princess and win her heart through song. But, just as reality begins to germinate doubt in his mind, Georgios is called home to his ailing grandfather, who will reveal one final, true story that may prove to be the most fantastic of all.
The diary of the life and death of a group of "amoral" young people, who have reached the point of no return and seek something to believe in and to die for. Their behavior brings them to the attention of the State. A discreet surveillance begins. A vigilante group monitors their house, headed by a nameless blonde man.
At the turn of the twentieth century a young merchant is abducted by a group of brigands who are sheltered in a remote mountainous area of Greece aiming to extract ransom from his wealthy family. The young man develops a kind of sympathy to the arch-brigand and realizes that the underground life and moral code of his kidnappers actually represent a more genuine expression of “New Hellenism” than his bourgeois well-being.
Melina Mercouri plays Maya, a jet-setting Greek actress who returns to her homeland to undertake the role of Medea. Searching for inspiration and clues as to how a mother could kill the children she loves, Maya discovers Brenda (Ellen Burstyn), a bible-spouting American woman serving time in an Athens prison for that very crime.