"Thanos Vlekas is a young farmer struggling to improve himself despite the derision of his widowed mother, who considers him incapable of bearing arms for his country. She prefers instead her ambitious and brave brigand son, Tassos, whose heroism and resistance to authority embody the virtues that helped Greece attain its freedom in 1832. While Thanos works his land, his ruthless brother shrewdly uses the political machinery and wealth gained from brigandage to replace Ottoman landowners and subjugate the villagers."--Back cover.