Escaping the Labyrinth

In 1951 in Delphi, Greece, graduate student Bud Schliemann encounters a friendly but disconcerting man named Herman who reveals himself as the god Hermes. After living through the centuries in different guises, Herman has decided to return to Greece and take the River Styx to the Underworld and finally be at peace. Bud dismisses Herman as crazy, yet seven years later, he finds and falls in love with a waitress who calls herself Dee, but he knows she is the goddess Artemis. She flees, and—for the next four decades—Bud encounters various gods and goddesses in disguise, but not Artemis. In the end, an 83-year-old Bud is terminally ill and decides to return to Greece before he dies. Back in Delphi, he discovers Artemis, who has not aged a day. She soon recognizes the old man as Bud whom she remembers with great affection. She invites Bud to join her in the Underworld where they will have eternity together, and he readily agrees—finally having found his goddess.