The irascible husband of Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody demonstrates again why he has been nicknamed "Father of Curses". Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dashmoor, Emerson is awarded instead the "pyramids" of Mazghunah—countless mounds of rubble in the midst of nowhere. Nothing in this barren spot seems worthy of interest—until someone gets killed.

The dead man is an antique dealer murdered in his Cairo shop. When a sinister Egyptian spotted at the murder scene turns up in Mazghunah, Amelia can't resist following his trail. There is a mysterious scrap of papyrus and a missing mummy case to investigate while she keeps at least one eye on their precocious son Ramses and his Egyptian cat. But the digging turns truly dangerous when Amelia and Emerson look for answers in an ancient tomb, one that could become their grave.