The central characters are a married couple, Erik (Ian Hendry) and Ann Shepherd (Wanda Ventham), who run a tavern called "Shepherd's Bar".
Ann is revealed in the first episode to be a sleeper agent of British Intelligence, Erik having been a broken-down drunk whom she was made to marry as part of her cover story. Other episodes deal with the other expatriates who frequented the bar. The most intriguing character in both series is the Greek police captain, Michael Krasakis (Stefan Gryff). In the second series the British Intelligence aspect is developed, until a clash with Soviet and Chinese agents results in both Ann and Erik having to leave Crete. In the final scene, about to board a plane leaving Heraklion airport, they have a partial reconciliation, since each is the only person the other can trust.
Location scenes in The Lotus Eaters were filmed in the Cretan resort of Aghios Nikolaos and derived its title from the lotus-eaters of Greek mythology, where those who ate the fruit of the lotus tree lost the desire to return home.
The series' theme is "Ta Trena Pou Fyghan" (Τα Τραίνα Που Φύγαν" = "The Trains That Departed), from the album Hellespont, composed by Stavros Xarchakos.[1]
Storm clouds gather over Aghios Nikolaos as Erik Shepherd and his customers await a stranger. "We are all so vulnerable," says Captain Krasakis. "Conscience is every man's cross, as shame is his crown of thorns."
Major and Mrs Edward Woolley live a perfectly ordered existence on Crete. But when the calm routine is broken, their life explodes into a violent reaction.
Like the goddess Aphrodite, Julie Johnson drifts into Aghios Nikolaos from the sea. And like Aphrodite she disrupts the lives of all she meets, particularly Ann and Erik Shepherd.
No Cretan will set foot on the deserted island of Spinalonga. But Philip and Leigh Mervish find the powerful atmosphere of this former leper colony perfect for a psychological experiment.
The first title in the new series which continues the story of Erik and Ann Shepherd. Will they return to Aghios Nikolaos and face up to the web of intrigue and mystery in which they find themselves so deeply involved?
"You see, the terrible thing about all this business is that you can no longer trust anyone," says Captain Krasakis. Erik Shepherd realises how true this is when Ann regains her memory.
