Costas Haritos barely survived his last investigation. After three weeks in hospital, he is sitting at home, bored and grumpy, his wife Adriani in total command. His life has been reduced to a choice of chicken soup or noodles, of whether to tune into a quiz show or the evening news. But then something truly exciting occurs on that awful machine known as the television set: In the middle of an interview, a property developer well-known throughout Greece whips out a pistol and shoots himself live on camera. Costas finds himself suddenly awoken from his state of lethargy. How does a person get it into his head to orchestrate his demise in such spectacular fashion? It is not long before reading newspaper reports about the incident no longer satisfies Costas and he is on the move again. In a private capacity. For Costas is officially on leave during his convalescence, and a replacement has been appointed in his absence. But he is determined to show the entire world that they cannot do without the old Haritos quite so easily. The case leads him into the heart of modern-day Greece, to the construction sites for the Olympic village, to the modern companies behind facades of glass and steel, to little terraced houses in the suburbs whose inhabitants still make authentic Greek coffee and where bougainvilleas blossom in the garden. With his characteristic nonchalance, Costas Haritos roams through the labyrinth of modern Athens in his Mirafiori, under the baking sun – and in the shadow of the past.