From 1941 to 1949, a race against time occurred throughout Greece, a relentless struggle that culminated in a total civil war. Starting as a fight for material and national survival amidst the nightmarish conditions of a triple hostile occupation, it continued as a confrontation between two political factions, which were shaped divisively against the backdrop of radical social and political upheavals within the country, transforming with external aid and interventions into a generalized armed conflict—the first on the post-war global scene of the Cold War.

This was the struggle for the future of Greece. Chris Woodhouse, one of the key protagonists of this struggle, was called as the head of the British mission in Greece to handle the explosive onset of the Resistance in the Greek mountains. He was a deep connoisseur of Greece and its history and was able to recount this struggle until its final outcome.

The author attempts to provide answers to questions such as: What were the deeper causes of the rift between EAM and the other resistance organizations? Is it true, and to what extent, that British aid fostered and enlarged the power of EAM, that is, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE)? Was the conflict with the British at the "Dekemvriana" inevitable? What was the role of the Yugoslavs and Bulgarians, with their claims on Greek Macedonia, in intensifying internal and external contradictions? What processes prompted the KKE to resort to arms again in 1946-1949? Why did Greece become the apple of discord between the two emerging superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union? Was the civil war unavoidable? What would have been the fate of Greece if the outcome of this struggle recounted by Woodhouse had been different?

Based on the utilization of documents, interviews with protagonists, the study of recent literature, and the distillation of his invaluable personal experience and judgment, Woodhouse analyzes with a penetrating gaze the characters, ideologies, and events that shook Greece and the whole world during the period 1941-1949.