Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped by all that her strong personality will temper the young Amunhotep's heretical desires.
Althea Tomlinson comes back to Egypt as just another tourist, showing the country to a spoiled 17-year-old girl. That's what she tells herself, anyway. Really, though, what drives her is a desire to discover the truth behind her father's disgrace and subsequent death.