He has no idea whether anybody reads his observations as he never receives a reply, but his payment still arrives regularly so he continues his work as an informant with unfailing eagerness.

Pascali's suspicions are aroused by the arrival of Anthony Bowles, a British archaeologist, whose purpose in visiting the island is unclear.

Unexpectedly, Bowles wants to change the terms of his contract: he says he has found some small archaeological objects of great significance and wants the right to excavate to be included in a new lease.

Once again Pascali serves as interpreter and intermediary with the Pasha, who seeing the objects, a gold necklace, and the antique statue's head, refuses to grant the excavation rights.

The ploy becomes more complicated when Bowles makes a genuinely important archaeological discovery: a large bronze statue of a boy from Greek times in pristine condition.

Deciding to retrieve the statue secretly, Bowles asks Pascali for help in delaying the closing of the lease deal for two more days.

He guides them that night to the excavation site, but as Bowles and Lydia are planning to leave the island, with the help of the Americans, taking the statue with them, they are all shot and killed by the Turks.

Pascali, already regretting having betrayed his friends, returns home to find his payment and a letter from Bowles trying to help him leave the island.

Caryn James, writing for The New York Times called it "Slow and stately, [the film] never gets beneath its own superficial gentility" and criticized the performances, dialogue, and cinematography.