Towards the end of World War II there is conflict in Crete between rival resistance groups. An uneasy peace follows liberation, and in April 1947 civil war breaks out in parts of the island. Gendarme posts are attacked, roadblocks are set up by rebels and soldiers desert their barracks. The guerrillas raid a small town and an airfield but many of their gangs are destroyed in the mountains and several of their leaders killed in ambushes. In a battle in the Samaria Gorge in 1948 the communists are defeated but most escape during the night. Many guerrillas now surrender and others are betrayed by the local population and killed. The survivors establish hide-outs but during the next decade most of the communist fugitives are eliminated.