Miro's Knot (An Essay in Love) "It was all quite fortuitous really (well, what isn't I suppose) but I'm sitting here on the portico of my home by my still hearth in the aftermath of my sixty-second birthday, watching the sun rise over the Saronic gulf and thinking back to how this long, strange process unfolded. From a simple lemon, to Miro's knot..." Thus begins the narrative of Scotsman Iain Richardson as he recalls and muses upon the many people and events which brought him to his own private paradise. Raised in Glasgow and educated in Edinburgh, Richardson abandons his studies and journeys to (1967) Greece. Not only does he abandon his studies but also his new fiance, Maureen. That decision begins what is, at first, a subconscious introspective journey in search of the true meaning of love. During his first three years on the small Greek island Richardson befriends a grand panoply of characters ranging from the local tailor (Stouros) to the enchanting and irresistible (but very married) art collector Jessica Wren. Richardson's 'odyssey' sees him encounter forbidden love in more than one form, a small, intimate artist colony at work, brief but defining meetings with millionaires, simple muleteers, painters, writers (Jerzy Kosinski among them), musicians (Leonard Cohen is a regular guest at the Wrens), an exiled White Russian at work on his autobiography and his part in the dissident writers under Stalin, a German drug runner and colorful others. Heartbreaks, a suicide, escaping the clutches of Interpol, stolen moments of reckless passion, participation in an ancient mystic ritual on the island of Amorgos, and an unexpected, incredible act of generosity are all aspects which lead Richardson to begin his narrative.