Millionaire Arthur Evans is consumed by the belief that the legends of Greece point to an earlier civilization that formed the basis for the legend of the Lost Continent of Atlantis. He spends his life and most of his fortune, uncovering this earliest of all European societies. Deciphering the artifacts of this unknown culture, Evans finds clues that his "Minoans" (named for the legendary king, Minos) produced a highly-evolved, intelligent an artistic society that reached out through trade and disappeared forever in mysterious circumstances. Atlantis presents the story of a vanished race whose epic history was long believed to be nothing more than myths--fanciful inventions from the songs of poets.

• Richard Kiley