The stories of three lonely people surviving a sweltering summertime in Athens are interwoven in this gentle romantic drama. Nikos used to be a merchant seaman, traveling around the globe to exotic places and testing his wits and his mettle in different situations. Now he is retired, living in Athens with his wife whom he no longer loves. While at the train station, he encounters a woman who faints more or less into his arms. From her, he learns that this day has already been special to her for two reasons: her husband just died, and it is her birthday. Curiously, this meeting sparks new life in him. Another man suffering through the hot Athens summer is a bank employee who gets calls every day at four p.m. from a woman who seeks to arouse him. What she succeeds in doing is rousing his curiosity, which he is likely to regret giving in to.

Young Giannis escapes from prison and hides in a deserted factory, with the dream of traveling far away. At the factory, a group of university students rehearse Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and a girl from the group discovers him. The students accept him into their group, offering him a part in the play as well. One night, three young men try to destroy the props for the theatrical performance, and Giannis tries to stop them, ending up back in prison. The students manage to get him out of jail, and he embarks on a ship and leaves far away.