Twelve-year-old Amunhotep III has ascended the throne, becoming king of the richest empire on earth. The boy's mother acts as regent, but she has brought to court the renowned seer, Huy, son of a humble farmer, to be scribe and counsel to her royal son. It's a position of power and responsibility-one fraught with intrigue and the lure of corruption. For it is Huy who controls the treasury, the military, all construction, and taxation-and perhaps most important, it's his task to choose the young Pharaoh's queen. His actions and premonitions, as well as his legendary past, make him very few friends and a great many enemies.