Against the backdrop of a prosperous Turkish-occupied village in 1920s Crete, Greece, where the inhabitants have reached an accommodation with the Turks, the villagers prepare for the annual staging of a Passion Play. However, the unexpected arrival of charismatic Priest Fotis' uprooted, starving flock will usher in violence and bitter conflict as the spiritual leader locks horns with the community's avaricious mayor and Father Grigoris, the local priest whose incendiary rhetoric divides the townsfolk. As a result, for fear of bringing the wrath of Agha upon them, the authorities reject Priest Fotis' urgent plea for mercy under the pretence of bringing economic hardship and disease on the village. And suddenly, Manolios, a humble shepherd playing Jesus, finds himself caught in the middle of a head-on confrontation. Must an innocent suffer to maintain order?
—Nick Riganas