Manuel Dretos, the son of a silversmith from Ioannina, will be sent to study in the Danubian Principalities with the dream of returning to his Turkish-ruled homeland as a liberator. However, fate has other plans for him. He will be captivated by the art of typography and will engage in engraving and printing. At the age of twenty, Manuel moves to Central Europe, works hard, and creates masterpieces. The monarch of Austria will invite him to his palace. In Vienna, he will fall in love with the beautiful Olivera, but dark forces will tear him away from her embrace and force him to wander through the powerful cities of Europe until he reaches the Russian capital, where he will meet the all-powerful Tsar Nicholas I. Will Manuel manage to return to Vienna and find Olivera? Will they be able to relocate to Epirus amidst the turmoil of the war that breaks out in Crimea in 1853?