A fictionalized account of the life of Hatshepsut, a queen in ancient Egypt who declared herself king and ruled as such for more than twenty years.

"I know," Satiah called. Her voice was musical, light, confident as a king's. "It's the bull of Min you remember, Thutmose. You remember, and you fear." Conspiracy and treason simmer in the northern reaches of the Two Lands. Thutmose is crippled by guilt over past wrongs. Hatshepsut is subdued by the grief of betrayal and loss. Meryet, the new Great Royal Wife, is the sole force holding the royal family - and Egypt - together. When an unexpected challenger...

"Hatshepsut has fulfilled her divine destiny and taken the Pharaoh's throne. But she knows her position is precarious. In all Egypt's long history, never has a woman ruled as king -- and Hatshepsut must use all the cleverness and bravery at her disposal to keep the reins of power from tangling in her fist"--Page 4 of cover.

After a series of slayings within the temple of Anubis, and the theft of Egypt's national treasure, only Amerotke, judge of the female pharoah Hatusu, can resolve if the murders are the work of the god Anubis or a simple man.