528 BC. In a tormented Egypt, threatened both by the Greeks' over-mighty influence and the Persians' desire for conquest, the struggle for power has taken the form of a deadly conspiracy - and young scribe Kel finds himself unjustly accused of murder, the helpless scapegoat at the centre of a sinister Intrigue of State. As he strives to prove his innocence, the only person Kel can rely on is Nitis, the beautiful young priestess with whom he is deeply in love. But then Nitis vanishes, and suddenly nothing seems to matter to Kel: neither his sullied honour, nor the mysterious coded papyrus, nor the future of Egypt itself. Nothing except the fact that he must find Nitis and rescue her. In order to save the love of his life, Kel throws himself into a desperate quest, his destiny and that of Egypt inexorably bound together. Will he survive long enough to discover the truth and restore his good name? Nothing is certain. For when human beings choose to follow a path paved with violence and injustice, they cannot avoid the vengeance of the gods.