Nikolas, a charismatic high school teacher sees his life fall apart violently and unexpectedly. During an intense crisis in his marriage, Nicholas becomes romantically involved, for one night, with the mother of one of his students who exhibits behavioral problems. A few days later, his wife is murdered during an armed robbery in their own home and his daughter is transferred to the intensive care unit in critical condition.
In 1935, financially strapped widow Louisa Durrell, whose life has fallen apart, decides to move from England, with her four children (three sons, one daughter), to the island of Corfu, Greece. Once there, the family moves into a dilapidated old house that has no electricity and that is crumbling apart. But life on Corfu is cheap, it's an earthly paradise, and the Durrells proceed to forge their new existence, with all its challenges, adventures, and forming relationships.
