During the 1894–95 excavation season, Emerson is furious to receive an unpromising concession at Mazghuna instead of the pyramids he wanted to investigate. Amelia’s attention shifts from the barren site when an antiquities dealer is murdered in Cairo and a suspicious man connected with the crime appears near the family’s dig.
A missing mummy case, illicit antiquities and unexplained movements around the excavation suggest that the dealer’s death is part of a larger scheme. Amelia pursues the trail while also attempting to supervise the precocious Ramses and his equally troublesome cat, forcing the Emersons to uncover what is being hidden beneath the appearance of an unsuccessful archaeological season.