The world of ancient Egypt springs magnificently to life in this astonishing historical novel of love, war, political intrigue, and religious revolution. Told from the first-person point of view, it is the story of Sinuhe, physician to the royal court of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his successors in the middle of the tumultuous 14th century B.C. From his exalted position, Sinuhe was able to observe and participate in some of the most intimate and important decisions that affected the powerful Egyptian kingdom of the 18th Dynasty during a very troubled period of its history.

Waltari brilliantly captures the life and rhythms of the ancient world as it was 3,400 years ago. When Sinuhe is sent as envoy to various foreign courts, including Babylon, Syria, and Crete, he encounters strange people with even stranger customs and beliefs. But Sinuhe is a tortured soul, a man who has been in love many times, and always to his sorrow. He travels to forget. Based on actual historical events, Sinuhe encounters many of the real-life characters who are familiar to many: Pharaoh Akhnaton, Queen Nefertiti, Tutankhamon, and the ruthless Horemheb - all real people whose lives, images, and stories are known to us from stone engravings, sculpture, and papyrus chronicles brought to light by modern archaeology. Follow along on a journey down the ancient Nile to a time of mysterious religions, beautiful palaces, and squalid urban life - to a time of spiritual and political passions that threatened to overwhelm an entire kingdom.