In the first film of Theo Angelopoulos' incomplete trilogy, the story begins in 1919 with some Greek refugees from Odessa arriving somewhere near Thessaloniki. Among them are two children, Alexis and Eleni. Eleni is an orphan and she is also taken care by Alexis' family. The refugees build a small village somewhere near a river, where the kids grow up and fall in love. But difficult times of dictatorship and war fast approach...