At the turn of the twentieth century a young merchant is abducted by a group of brigands who are sheltered in a remote mountainous area of Greece aiming to extract ransom from his wealthy family. The young man develops a kind of sympathy to the arch-brigand and realizes that the underground life and moral code of his kidnappers actually represent a more genuine expression of “New Hellenism” than his bourgeois well-being.

In this disturbing family drama, a prosperous middle-aged farmer takes up gambling and whoring at the expense of his devoted second wife. Meanwhile, his son the pervert becomes fascinated with the family's maid, a deaf-mute.