The pain of unrequited love is one of life's great tragedies, but even more heart-breaking is a love that is taboo: a love that crosses the divide between species. When a lonely olive grower sows seeds of love in search of romance, he cannot know the chaos he will cause. Instead of the voluptuous woman of his dreams, the District Health Authority mule, Gezabel, falls head over hooves in love with him. And, as Gezabel narrates, she is not the only lover to get her stars crossed when Ardour casts its spell over the region. As the villagers throw their love away on those who do not return it, remarkable phenomena add to the fevered atmosphere, and passions surge with the soaring temperatures of summer.