Captain Gabriel Lacey accompanies famous dandy Lucius Grenville to Egypt, a land that Lacey has long anticipated visiting. Lacey travels there for more than a simple holiday, however—James Denis has tasked him with finding an "object" from ancient Alexandria and procuring it, whatever the cost.

The task does not turn out to be so simple. Locating what Denis wants proves difficult, sending Lacey and Grenville exploring tombs along the Nile. Lacey must deal with treasure hunters, a shadow following him and his friends, murder, and missing his new family as he explores the exotic country he has so longed to see.