Homer Thrace, an "amateur philosopher" fascinated by the culture of Ancient Greece, arrives in Greece convinced that here he will find "Eternal Truth". In the course of his wanderings he meets Ilya , a hooker regally picks and chooses her customers. In Ilya the American sees pure beauty and the modern incarnation of a figure straight out of Greek tragedy. He falls passionately in love with her and like another Pygmalion tries to fashion her in his own image. But Ilya has other plans: she quits the lessons of classical education that the American offers her and dumps him for the love of Tonio a Greek-Italian dockworker.