August 1910. Amelia Peabody and her husband, ÂEmerson, are relaxing at home in Kent. But adventure beckons when Major George Morley asks them to join an expedition to Palestine, where he is determined to unearth the legendary Ark of the Covenant. Always Âskeptical, Emerson refuses until requests from the War ÂOffice and Buckingham Palace persuade him to Âreconsider by Âinsisting that Morley is a German agent intent on Âstirring up trouble.
Amelia and Emerson follow Morley to Jerusalem and hope to reunite with their son, Ramses, working north of the holy city. But before they can meet, Ramses learns of a deadly plot, information he must pass on to his Âparents—if he can get to them alive.