The Minoan story is set during the cultures high palace period; 1550 BC. These ancient people  lived on the island of Crete, and on several other Mediterranean islands, from 6000 to 1500 BC. They disappeared without a trace until archaeological evidence was unearthed early in the 20th Century.

In current time, fourteen-year-old Gloria is living on Crete in 1954. Her father is studying the archaeological remains of the ancient culture.  Although the Greek island in the Mediterranean Sea is bright and sunny, Gloria lives under the dark shadow of her emotionally and mentally disturbed mother.

Worried about his lonely, withdrawn daughter, Gloria’s father hires a local woman, Andromache, to be her tutor and companion. As Gloria struggles to discover who she is and where she’s going while meeting the demands of her mother’s illness, Andromache brightens her world with an intricate tale about people in a fascinating culture that worshipped the Great Goddess and valued love, community, art, and nature.