Erik and Ann Shepherd, who've run a bar in Crete for the past seven years, have an uneasy marriage. When two new arrivals come to the bar, the couple seem to have opportunities to stray from the marital nest. But Ann's visitor isn't what he seems...

David Clive has set up a new life with his girlfriend Jennifer. When his ex-wife Lorna announces her arrival, his head starts spinning, and the Shepherds are caught in the crossfire.

Patrons at the bar note increasing tension between Maj. Woolley and his wife. There's speculation that meek, obsequious Miriam in fact harbors hostility toward the Major, while the Mervishes mock the couple's staid, perfunctory habits. Meanwhile, the Major becomes obsessed with the idea that a parcel dispatched from home is being intentionally withheld, and Miriam grows more paranoid about garden intruders. The Shepherds intercede but are unable to halt a series of events that culminate in a shocking act of violence.

Kirsten and Mark discover an unconscious beauty, adrift in a boat. With Erik's assistance, she is taken to stay with the Shepherds. Krasakis identifies her as Julie Johnson, a visitor travelling with an unconventional couple, the destructive Val Griffith and her lover Nat. Ann's curiosity, and ultimate annoyance, is aroused when she learns that Erik shares a notably intimate past with Val.

In Birmingham, Monica Turton is informed by an art dealer that her late father's works havd developed an audience, and they can make a fortune from the early paintings he created on Crete. They travel there and are astonished to learn Nestor is alive.

Kirsten and Mark are attacked following a tryst on the beach, so the Mervishes invite the young couple to stay with them to recuperate. They accept but slowly find themselves captive in a sadistic psychological experiment.

Simultaneous arrivals in Aghios Nikolaos create an unbearable strain on the Shepherds' marriage. Erik is tempted by the alluring young Jocasta with whom he has shared a previous flirtation, while Donald Culley returns to continue the relationship he and Ann started.

Culley reveals the true reason for his return to Aghios Nikolaos and sets about to destroy the Shepherds' marriage. Pushed to the breaking point and left with an ultimatum, Ann makes a desperate decision which culminates in two murders and an escape.