"The novel narrates the events of internal strife in the Greek village of Kastellos during the civil war in the late forties of the nineteenth century.
In that era, many villagers, including Captain Drakos, the son of the village priest, Yaparos, joined the rebel "Ansar" who took the "Eagle Peak" at the top of the mountain as a launching pad to attack the Greek villages that were protected by soldiers led by the Supreme Commander, Demetros Levas.
Father Yanaros stands between the supporters and the national soldiers, not knowing which side he is siding with. Then in the end, after many massacres, death, and destruction everywhere, he decides after finding himself carrying on his shoulders - and his shoulders alone - the sins of the entire world.
