Greece, the last decades of the 19th century. Bipartisanship, corruption, politicians, thugs, "gold beetles," and bankers define the political and economic landscape. Against this backdrop, the merchant-traveler Romaíos Angoulés arrives in Athens: an artistic and unconventional nature leads him to decide to settle and, instead of engaging in stock market games, to invest in "beauty."

Together with his illegitimate daughter Rosita and his apprentice Sotíris Kontaxís, they plant a rose garden, hoping to include all known varieties of roses, as well as to create new species, culminating in the achievement of the "blue rose." The Rose Garden of Kerameikos, the famous "City of Roses," soon becomes the crucible of pioneering ideas.

There, restless youths will be immersed, older anti-monarchists will seek refuge, while simultaneously, human passions, love, and endurance will be tested, in an unrecognizable Athens, which constantly surprises the reader, either with its differences or with the hidden "signs of our times." A historical novel for all those who lived "as they wanted to live," bequeathing the seeds of utopia to those who come after.