When wealthy Colonel Delamere dies after a botched burglary, it's up to Eric Ward to manage his estate—and catch the killers. But the Colonel's will contains perplexing instructions for the disposal of an ancient Egyptian statuette, first discovered by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. The artefact was supposed to be handed to the Foreign Office—but it was stolen by the burglars.

The allegedly cursed statuette could change the course of the entire Middle East.

Eric simply wants to carry out his friend's last wishes. But along the way he runs up against an Israeli secret agent, the Foreign Office, and various dangerous factions—who all want the ancient artefact ...