Patricia's long journey, which began with The Route and the Fair, comes to an end here — a tragic and violent end in the city of Athens that is ravaged by the fires of the Civil War. January 1945, the last days of the Dekemvriana and, while the defeated guerrillas retreat towards the mountains of Attica, Patricia, this unique car with human characteristics and a woman's soul, will follow her owners in a last-ditch attempt to escape that will lead her to her utter destruction, coming under fire from the British airplanes. What will become of the holocaust? A silver Scarab, her amulet, a symbol of immortality and rebirth. The salvation of the car marks a new beginning for the long-suffering family, whose luck was inextricably intertwined with the vehicle's fate. A circle closes and a new one opens — the hard and arduous process of restoring the ruins left behind by the Occupation years and the Civil War in run-down post-war Greece.
Being the second volume of the trilogy, the Scarab spans a short period of time — only three months — from October 1944 to January 1945 —, a period that was riddled with historic events that determined to a great extent the future of the country and its people, from the Liberation feast to the tragedy of the Dekemvriana Movement whose death toll was rather hefty.