This is a story about the search for identity. Michael Dowd, an out-of-work theater misfit, feels like a failure, and he traces this feeling back to being adopted. Driven to uncover his roots, Michael approaches the adoption agency, only to be denied the answers he seeks. Yet one clue surfaces: his birth name, Kokolakis, hints at Greek origins. With that small lead, he travels to Greece in search of his family.
In the secluded village of Kouraki, he encounters a colorful cast of characters: Elias, the local fool who becomes his unlikely companion; Wolff, a German expat and eccentric inventor; Sotiri, a warm-hearted olive-picker; Penelope, a sharp-minded intellectual from Athens; and Mihaeli, the village mayor, who warns him of the dangers his search could awaken. Each encounter draws Michael deeper into a mystery that tests his resolve and uncovers long-buried secrets.