The film is loosely based on a true story of 19th century Athens. Marie Weber was a German expatriate teacher who worked for the Greek royal family, and Mihalis Mimikos was a Greek physician who was serving his term in the Greek Army. In 1893, Marie asked her father for permission to marry her boyfriend, and he forbid it. A desperate Mary committed suicide by jumping off the Acropolis. In response, Mimikos committed suicide by firearm. Their graves in Athens have long served as tourist attractions.