Sir Henry is striving to ensure no tomb has been overlooked by the previous expedition. Scarcely have the men started working when their spades uncover a series of steps cut into the rock. Then Sir Henry is found stiff and stark in his bed. On his high brow, inscribed in what appears to be dried blood, is a crudely drawn uraeus serpent, the symbol of the divine pharaoh.

Amelia and Emerson follow an expedition searching for the vanished treasures of the Temple in Jerusalem. Besides suspecting the leader of the expedition of inept excavation practices, they believe him to be secretly working for German intelligence.

According to an ancient Egyptian papyrus, dreaming of a large cat means good luck. And that's just what plucky archaeologist Amelia Peabody could use, as her growing family matures in the new century. When the excavation of an unknown tomb reveals a recent murder, the Peabody family must unearth an assassin who'd like to end their discoveries for good.

Amelia and Emerson settle in for a quiet summer in England. When a night watchman mysteriously dies in the British Museum, Amelia is on the scene with her trusty parasol, ready to do battle with a malignant mummy and a ghost from Emerson's past.

In 1917 Amelia Peabody Emerson and her hot-tempered husband are investigating a newly discovered royal tomb. Perhaps most puzzling is the recently slain body found near the site. But before the Emersons can dig in, the Great War interrupts their plans. Amelia's son is sent by the British deep into Gaza on a perilous espionage mission -- and eventually the entire family gets involved.

The gentleman came bearing a particularly chilling story. It seems that 14 years before, Forthright's uncle had disappeared into the Nubian desert along with his beautiful child-bride, never to return. Now a mysterious letter from an unknown source has convinced Forthright's disconsolate grandfather that his son and daughter-in-law are still alive. In spite of Forthright's protests to the contrary, the senior Willoughby is intent on pursuading the...