A tanner, swamped with debts, must abandon his trade and go work in the local factory.

The "Flea" is a handwritten little newspaper written, edited and published by Ilias, a determined twelve year-old schoolboy who lives in a remote village in the mountains near ancient Olympia. His efforts go largely unappreciated by his elders, who tease him and nickname him "The Flea", and his concerned parents are convinced his preoccupation with his newspaper will distract him from more serious studies and forbid him to continue it. Ilias' only allies are a quixotic eccentric and a sensitive schoolgirl. The villagers' scoffing at Ilias' ambitions changes to admiration when an Athenian journalist shows up to do a story on Ilias. He becomes disheartened, however when he realizes much of their enthusiasm stems from hopes for increased tourism spurred by his fame and he distrusts the journalist's motives as well.

Set during the Greek civil war. A villager is forced to leave his house and property and go to Thessaloniki with his daughter and son. They find refuge in an old building with hundreds of other people. They live a miserable life as the daughter becomes a whore, and the son has to work.

Makis and Litsa, a couple in their forties, pressured by financial difficulties and midlife problems, see the possibility of inheriting from their aunt as a way out of their troubles. But Litsa's sister and her husband, as well as their aunt's lawyer and his friend, an engineer, have their own plans. The bequest of part of the inheritance to charities forces them all to take a trip to their late uncle's birthplace. An unexpected event, however, upsets their plans, giving the whole affair uncontrollable dimensions.