The Peristero, a gasoline-powered speedboat, makes its maiden voyage on the lake of Kastoria. It is June 13, 1929, the day of the Ascension, and since dawn it has been transporting pilgrims to Dispilio, the so-called Isle. There, every year on this day, after a service is held at the church of the Ascension, a festival takes place.

The third trip of the Peristero will never reach its destination. The mortal love of a teacher for a soul girl, the thwarted dream of a teenager for a better life in America, the untimely life of an infant, and another one that is gestating in a tragic womb, plunge the city into mourning, leading to a catharsis that widens the orphanhood and intensifies the stagnant desolation.