"Egypt, 1912. Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters's bestselling, beloved mystery series"--

Amelia Peabody, the intrepid archaeologist, returns to the Nile with her Egyptologist husband Emerson and their entourage to track down a brilliant and dashing master criminal wreaking havoc among the excavations.

A Great War has ended, but evil still casts a long shadow over a violence-scarred land. One woman -- an adventurer and archaeologist with a brilliant mind -- must now confront a dreadful adversary more fiendish and formidable than any she has ever encountered. But by doing so, she may be feeding the flames of a devastating firestorm that threatens the fragile lives of the tender and innocent.

The gentleman came bearing a particularly chilling story. It seems that 14 years before, Forthright's uncle had disappeared into the Nubian desert along with his beautiful child-bride, never to return. Now a mysterious letter from an unknown source has convinced Forthright's disconsolate grandfather that his son and daughter-in-law are still alive. In spite of Forthright's protests to the contrary, the senior Willoughby is intent on pursuading the...

Readers have long wondered what befell the Emerson clan during the years before the Great War. Now, at last, the silence is broken and the truth revealed of a perilous journey to a secret and mysterious place hidden deep in the heart of the unforgiving desert. An adventure prompted by loyalty to an endangered friend -- and spurred on by lies and treachery -- it leads Amelia Peabody and her intrepid family into a nest of vipers lying in wait at a remote...

In 1922, as her husband Radcliffe Emerson unsuccessfully tries to persuade his rival Howard Carter to turn over digging rights in the Valley of the Kings to him, Amelia Peabody and her family head for Luxor to search for the long-lost tomb of King Tut.

Amelia and Emerson follow an expedition searching for the vanished treasures of the Temple in Jerusalem. Besides suspecting the leader of the expedition of inept excavation practices, they believe him to be secretly working for German intelligence.