This book is an accessible guide through the many twists and turns of Euripides' work "The Children of Heracles," providing various contexts through which one can understand and appreciate the play. "The Children of Heracles" follows the adventures of Heracles' family after his death.

Euripides confronts both the characters and the audience with an extraordinary series of plot twists and moral challenges, as the persecuted family of refugees attempts to find asylum in Athens before taking revenge on their enemy, Eurystheus. It is a fast-paced story that explores the nature of power and its abuse, focusing on the proper treatment and behavior toward the powerless and the obligations and limitations of asylum.

The audience must continually reassess the moral dimensions of the work as the characters react to complexities ranging from the fantastical to the terrifyingly realistic. Yon places "The Children of Heracles" in its literary context, showing how Euripides constructs a unique type of tragic plot from a wide range of conventions.

It also explores the centrality of the deceased Heracles and the primary role assigned to the socially powerless and dramatically marginalized. Finally, it discusses the historical context of the play's original presentation and its political resonance then and now.