This is a chronicle of travels through modern Egypt; a landscape strewn with incongruities and peopled by a vivid cast of characters. Their stories form part of Kennedy's funny, yet ultimately serious portrait of Egypt today. Sidestepping the usual assortment of pyramids, Kennedy discovers an Egypt in which Bedouin watch American television, monks have word processors and everything is a world away from the common "archaelogical theme park" image usually accorded this country.