Plot summary

West of Thebes, Lake Copais, in Boeotia, Greece. As sweet wine and vile passions numb his deep-seated emotional pain, Dimitros Kanalis, a despotic landowner and failed paterfamilias, returns home after yet another night of debauchery. After all, some things never change. In the meantime, Dimitros is preparing for the wheat harvest and the upcoming visit of his daughter Anna, a sophisticated lady from his second marriage. However, the rugged farmer is unaware that insatiable carnal desires and pent-up sexual frustration have clouded the mind of his social outcast son, Anestis. Suddenly, timid Chrysa, Dimitros' foster daughter and religious deaf-mute, goes missing. Now, a monster is on the loose. But fear is a ferocious, untameable beast gnawing at sinners day and night. Where is Chrysa? Does anyone know what has happened to the poor girl?—Nick Riganas