Christian Jacq is one of France's leading Egyptologists. He is the author of the internationally bestselling Ramses series,which has been translated into twenty-four languages and sold more than six million copies worldwide. He is also the author of the stand-alone novel The Black Pharaoh.

The story so far.., in a mysterious village in the desert on the West Bank of the Thebes, lives a small group of craftsmen whose task is to excavate and decorate the splendid tombs of the pharaohs. Its name is The Place of Truth.

Meanwhile, at Pi-Ramses, Egypt's capital, one ruler follows another in quick succession... After Ramses the Great came Merenptah; and now his successor Seti II is in open conflict with his own son Amenmes. Despite this political unrest, the Place of Truth, under the leadership and protection of Nefer and his wife Ubekhet, shoul.d remain a place of peace and harmony. But panic has gripped the inhabitants and the situation is going from bad to worse in the face of mounting catastrophe. Drinking water is poisoned, food is contaminated, and there have been several attempts by evildoers to scale the walls of the Place of Truth, which have been thwarted thanks to the courage of Paneb the Ardent.

But, as the first rumblings of rebellion echo throughout Egypt, there seems to be no reason why Mehy, Chief Finance Minister of Thebes and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, should not finally seize the Stone of Light and obtain the power which he has craved for so long...

After Nefer the Silent and The Wise Woman comes the next volume in this great adventure novel. Based on historical fact, Christian Jacq takes us back to those perilous and uncertain years following the reign of Ramses the Great.