Summary

In the early 1970s, with Greece under the rule of a military junta, pre-teen Stavros discovers a strange accompaniment to the awakening of eros: he subverts the meanings of classical myths, creating strange physical symptoms in those around him.

Stavros' conservative parents, perplexed and flustered, take him from specialist to specialist. Diagnoses vary, until a fortune-teller deems that the boy is victim of a rare, ancient disease, which exhibits himself when he is in love.

After the collapse of the junta, as Stavros meets the toils of love and politics in university, the influence of his strange affliction extends, from his immediate environment into the political arena.