Freya Hannan arrives in Egypt for the funeral of her elder sister Alex, a desert explorer who has lived in the Middle East for the past fifteen years. Recently diagnosed with a degenerative neurological condition, Alex has taken her own life. Freya is met at Luxor Airport by a colleague of her sister s, who drives her the 515 kms to Dakhla Oasis where Alex lived. Only one other non-Egyptian is present at the funeral: Professor Flinders Flin Brodie, 45 - tall, rugged, handsome - a world authority on pre-dynastic Egypt. The funeral over, Freya spends the next few days sorting through her sister s possessions and finding out more about her suicide. As she does so, she becomes increasingly uneasy. When a Bedouin turns up at Alex s home with the objects they have found in the desert, explaining that she had promised to pay them for news of any unusual remains - especially Soviet remains - discovered out in the western wilderness, Freya realizes that it is not only her sister s death that raises questions, but her life as well."