Margarita's Husband

The place: a small British colony somewhere in the Levant. The time: the early twentieth century. Revolutionary unrest among the mixed Christian and Moslem population is on the rise; the political situation is further complicated by ethnic tensions and rivalries between the two communities. Homer Kyroleon is a wealthy Christian landowner, inveterate womanizer and local political figure who considers revolt misguided and futile. He is married to the docile Margarita, who is gifted with second sight and a magical ability to communicate with animals; she is passionately devoted to Kyroleon despite his infidelities. Fate deals Kyroleon a devastating blow in the form of the death of his only daughter Polyxene. The tragedy, which brings Kyroleon's rebel student son Adonis back from Paris, catalyzes profound unconscious changes in the landowner. Kyroleon becomes infatuated with the seductive Gesthemane, a refugee girl of obscure origins young enough to be his daughter, who has secretly also taken Adonis as her lover.