Nikos Kakalios

Based on the book by Ilias Venezis "The Number 31328", the film by Nikos Koundouros unfolds through the personal tragedies of three characters, the Asia Minor Disaster and the agonizing travails of the Asia Minor Greeks who had been arrested and led to death by Kemal's troops and armed groups of Muslims. The wife of a merchant, a teacher and a seventeen-year old boy try to survive, following the column of prisoners into the depths of Asia Minor.

An 80-year-old widower, Mr. Elias, goes to his village (Perithorio, where he had been president of the community for twenty-four consecutive years) to vote in the municipal elections. There he meets his childhood sweetheart (Fotini, also a widow). Their youthful engagement had been broken off due to a misunderstanding, but now their love is rekindled and they are considering marriage, despite the opposition of Fotini's daughter. When one day the village madman announces their rendezvous, the elderly couple, panicked, take the bus and flee to Drama. There they spend carefree, tender moments, but Mr. Elias' son, Aristides, finds them and forces them to return. However, the big decision has already been made, and when Mr. Elias' pension for former mayors and community presidents comes through, nothing can stop the couple anymore. Fotini comes to Athens and, together with Elias, they visit her grandson.