Pharaoh-Queen Hatusu's Egypt is in a new and glorious ascendancy. But for all its prosperity and power it is not without its weaknesses - or enemies. At a peace treaty signing between Egypt and Libya in Thebes, three of Egypt's leading scribes die violently on the Temple forecourt, the victims of poisoning. And when a prosperous merchant and his wife are found drowned rumours sweep the imperial city. The Poisoner of Ptah has returned. Pharaoh Hatusu orders Amerotke, Chief Judge of the Halls of Two Truths, to find the perpetrator of these abominations. His hunt for the Poisoner uncovers a seething mass of suspicion and danger. Now Amerotke must pit his wits against a cunning opponent intent on vengeance and survive the twilight world of Thebes where life can be so rich and yet death so swift and brutal... The sixth novel in Paul Doherty's Ancient Egyptian series.