The first in the director's A Trilogy of History, Angelopoulos' assuredly spare second feature film is set during pre-World War II Greece when the country was under a dictatorship. Though the political context is never explicitly mentioned, the implication is clear. An unstable man, who stands accused of assassinating a trade unionist, uses a smuggled gun to hold a visiting Conservative Member of Parliament hostage. Put in a bind due to political divide, the government's actions ultimately demonstrate its incompetence and corruption.