The novel renames Nikos Kazantzakis as Cosmas Eleftherakis and follows him during the last six months of his life. It dramatises imaginary meetings between Eleftherakis and Albert Camus, Eleftherakis' trip to China, conspiracies against him orchestrated by the Church of Greece and the Greek Writers Society. The critical component surveys the historical novel and Kazantzakis' own historical novels.