In settings both rural and urban, and ranging across time from World War II to the present, Thanassis Valtinos contrasts the cheap and popular side of twentieth century Greece with the enduring sense of history of a proud and dignified people. With vivid language and powerful imagery, Valtinos addresses the major dislocations of three generations of Greeks in the face of profound political, social, and cultural change. Disillusioned urbanites and simple farmers alike are affected by the coups and political pressures of contemporary Greece, while at the same time they are moved by the primitive Greece of visions, ghostly apparitions and of saints' shrines in olive groves.