---

When an archivist is murdered in the Great Library
of Alexandria, the Roman Prefect of Egypt
persuades his Egyptian Doctor, Kaires, to join the
scholarly group of suspects on a research trip
down the Nile.
As the boat glides past the cities of the Delta on its
way to the Pyramids, other murders occur before a
deadly secret involving unimaginable wealth is
uncovered - but can Kaires solve the mystery
before he himself becomes a victim?

---

Kaires was at home, writing, aware that the Prefect was due back on the following day. Since he had returned to Alexandria, he had been reluctant - perhaps unable - to sit down and record the events that had so deeply affected the lives of so many, not least his own. But he could put it off no longer. He had been up most of the night, determined to lose no more time. Even now, at this late hour, he was still unsure if he could complete an account of something as yet unresolved. He couldnt rest until it was all behind him, at least as far as possible, and he was exhausted. He hadnt touched food since he had started writing, only a little water, and as the hours passed he was keenly aware of the weight of past events beginning to take its toll. He sat back in his chair to take a breath.A soft light was now entering through the small windows high in the wall behind him, and along with it the gentle cooling of the dawn breezes that swept across the harbour as the sun rose. He stretched forward and extinguished the lamp. He couldnt remember ever having been so tired. As he picked up his pen again he paused at the sound of a knock at the front door. He heard Remi, his servant, scramble down the passageway and draw back the bolts to admit the visitor. After a few muffled words came another knock, this time at Kairess own door.

---

Paul Davies is Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science and Co-Director of the Cosmology Initiative, both at Arizona State University. He is a passionate science communicator, and has won several awards for his work, including the 2002 Michael Faraday Prize from the Royal Society for promoting science to the public.

---