$16.00 paper, ISBN 0-941702-53-7

"A superb writer of tales rooted in reality, Petrakis presents a story about Greek immigrants and their involvement in the labor-management wars during the early 1900's. A debt of honor brings Manolis from his home in Crete to America. Stellios, abetted by his brother Mitsos, kills Manolis's brother and the murderers escape justice by sailing to the U.S. Manolis pursues them on the next ship, where he meets Father Basil and his family, sent to minister to the Greeks in Snowmass, Utah. The narrative details the lives of Stellios, Mitsos and other exploited workers in the Far West; in other chapters, the author focuses on Manolis, his menial job in Chicago and his intimacy with a woman who wants to marry him. The report that Stellios is in Snowmass sets Manolis on his way for the confrontation with Aleko's killer, but what he learns from Father Basil, Stellios himself and the laborers in the community affects Manolis's vow to take a life for a life, as he has been taught. The result is a stunning climax to Petrakis's novel, a heartbreaking tale leavened by roistering humor and a viewpoint that turns a story into a parable."
       —Publishers Weekly

"This novel by Harry Mark Petrakis recalls the work of the distinguished Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis. Crete and its impassioned beings. Thirst for freedom, the power of desire. The implacable law of certain family traditions, the inexorable advance and fulfillment of avenging fate. All these themes can be found in Petrakis' disturbing story, which is told with the talent we have come to expect of him....In his tales…violence is measured by brotherhood, passionate hate by passionate love.  And in the end it is man who, despite his weaknesses and his blindness, has the right to victory."
       —Elie Wiesel, Chicago Tribune