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.