In the 1895–96 season, Amelia, Emerson and eight-year-old Ramses secure a desirable excavation at Dahshur. Their professional triumph is disrupted by theft, violence and signs that Sethos—the Master Criminal who has repeatedly challenged Amelia—is operating nearby with a new and intensely personal purpose.
When Ramses is abducted, the conflict moves beyond stolen antiquities and archaeological rivalry. Amelia and Emerson must identify Sethos’s agents, follow deliberately misleading clues and recover their son while continuing a dig in which almost every discovery offers the criminal another opportunity to strike.