[1] It is part of a series of novels by Smith set to Ancient Egypt and follows the fate of the Egyptian Kingdom through the eyes of Taita, a multi-talented and highly skilled eunuch former slave.

With the help of the young captain Zaras, Taita successfully undertakes a covert operation to steal the Minoan treasure while blaming the theft on the Hyksos, breaking their treaty and enriching Pharaoh at a single stroke.

They arrive at Babylon, where they find that Nimrod rules over an impoverished kingdom, as his father squandered much of the country's wealth in grandiose building projects meant to woo the goddess Ishtar to descending to earth.

After a perilous voyage across the Mediterranean, Taita and the princesses arrive at the Minoan capital of Knossos, where they meet the Supreme Minos, who is a sinister, gigantic man who always wears a bull mask.

Taita is anguished when he learns that he will probably not hear from them ever again, but consoles himself that he has successfully sealed the alliance with the Minoans and keeps himself busy by planning the joint operations against the Hyksos.

They quickly search for Tehuti and Bekatha and learn they have been taken to the high temple as human sacrifices to appease their god Cronus and prevent him from destroying Crete.

They leave for one of the Aegean islands with Zaras and another Egyptian officer who became Bekatha's lover, and they have Taita tell Pharaoh that they all perished in the destruction of Knossos.