DESCRIPTION: The novel, now in its second printing describes the culture and traditions that the Greek men and women brought with them when they emigrated to America in the early 1900's. They came from a land where people were obsessed with the past, to America where only the future mattered.. Most of the events take place in villages in Greece and the teeming streets of Boston. Many of the characters really existed as evidenced by actual photographs. It is a novel about real people. It reveals their imperfections as they take risks, prosper, fail, laugh and love, but always continue the struggle to improve their lives and those of their children.