Since the death of Ramses the Great, the villagers of the Place of Truth must produce their best work to honour Egypt's greatest Pharaoh. And as the new master of work, Nefer the Silent bears the ultimate responsibility for all he oversees. But the pressure of work cannot conceal the anxiety faced by all who live in the secret village; will the new Pharaoh, Merenpath, want to continue his father's good work? And, even more frightening, who - or what - can be behind the series of violent crimes that has been terrorising the village? For Ubekhet, Nefer's wife, newly endowed with knowledge of the supernatural, the time has come to prove that she is worthy of the title she has been given - Wise Woman - and to try to protect her beloved husband from the evil that is haunting the Place of Truth. Because in the shadows lurks Mehy, Chief Treasurer of Thebes and leader of the armed forces, who continues to plot Nefer's downfall and to try to steal the Stone of Light. His partner in crime is Serketa, a woman who knows no boundaries and whose victims can find no escape. Thefts, murders, floods, sorcery and evil, Nefer and Ubekhet must take on all this and more as they prepare for the grandest burial Egypt has ever known. Once again Christian Jacq unerringly breathes life into the Egypt of legends in all its magnificent splendour.