This book explores the principles, attitudes, and failures of Greek Cypriot nationalists to achieve the union of Cyprus with Greece. Andrew R. Novo addresses the anti-colonial struggle within the context of: the competition between Left and Right in Cyprus for control over the Union issue; the conflict between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot nationalism in Cyprus; the roles played by Turkey and Greece amidst the armed struggle on the island; and the concerns of the British Empire during its declining power after World War II.

The work at hand does not constitute a narrative history of the period, an analysis of British policy, or a description of British operations conducted to suppress the Greek Cypriot uprising, but examines the foundations of the Union case and how it unfolded in practice.

It also argues that the strategic myopia that characterized the leadership of the unionist movement was a hindrance to the cause itself, defined its evolutionary path, and was the main reason for its failure. Cyprus and the international community faced the illegal Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island, which remains, to this day, an unresolved issue.