This book a memorial to the heroes and heroines of Paros and Antíparos: to their unassailable philótimo, courage, endurance, ingenuity and unswerving loyalty to their country, which have raised them to the elite ranks of the world's heroes. As for their unsung leader, the Cretan Háris Grammatikákis, let his protégé Captain Emmanuíl Patéli, son of the martyred Vassílios, speak: 'He was born to show us how we might become great men.'

The true events of the cyclone of events that whirled through Paros and Antíparos during the Italian occupation of those islands in World War II. At the heart of the tale are the islanders who survived this time together, real persons, who left their hempen nets and stony fields to free their island from foreign dominion. Led by a certain Cretan wild man and sea wolf, they never gave up, never gave in, never yielded: they fought their bondage with all their quiet might, whatever the risk. Their spectacular human achievement and the unflagging resolve and ingenious strategies of the wily Cretan are what the book is about. It is the compelling story of how ordinary people – Greek islanders – rose to greatness by pursuing 'the part that is great' within themselves, whatever the cost.