The Nile Valley, 1928. Stifled by his new posting in Cairo, Captain John Caspasian of the Gurkhas longs for action. So even a job escorting a group of archaeologists into the wastes of upper Egypt looks inviting, particularly when Caspasian discovers that a rival French expedition will be travelling with them.
The French party contains not only an old comrade from the trenches, Captain Paul Beranger of the Foreign Legion, but also the exquisite Michelle Simonin. But the innocent-looking search for a pharaoh’s tomb turns out to be a lethal trap.
An explosive mixture of Egyptian nationalism and tribal ferocity awaits Caspasian – and the pitiless desert may well be the most powerful enemy of all.