Through the dim light of the candle, I crossed the road that leads to you. I flew so high that I felt dizzy from my joy. I felt as if I were lost in the desert, and I saw you like an oasis giving me courage. You are my hope, and I am happy. I painted the ship that will take us far away. Where the moon, the sun, and the wind will chart the course to make our journey last.

Close your eyelids, lean on my chest, rely on my love. The night has passed, the light of day will bring happiness. A story of an unfulfilled love between a Greek and a Jew, set against the backdrop of interwar Arta, World War II, the extermination of the Jews of Arta, and the post-war landscape of war-torn Greece.

Elpidoforos Intzempelis adds an important link, not only to his own body of work but also to our contemporary prose, with a novel that stands in stark contrast to the current production of novels.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]