November 1973. Professor Periklis Harvatis, working alone and late into the night on an important archaeological dig, unearths a magnificent golden vase upon which the enigmatic images of a long-lost second Odyssey are engraved, showing the mystery of Ulysses' final voyage. But in the bleak chamber where he finds it he sees something so frightening that less than seven hours later, a broken man, he is dead.but not before he has ensured the safety of the vase.