Alexandria in Egypt 48BC.
The country is divided by civil war pitting Cleopatra's supporters against those of her brother and husband, Ptolemy, who is ravaging the country. In this climate of terror, Thomas, a young apprentice to Akkod, Cleopatra's astrologist and astronomist, falls in love with his master's daughter. One day, in horror, he discovers that both master and daughter have been kidnapped.
Thomas sets out on their trail and learns in the course of his investigations that Cleopatra herself had asked Akkod to make a specific divination, and that the partisan of Ptolemy are behind the kidnapping. Cleopatra promises Thomas that in exchange for the tablets required for the divination, her guards will find the master and his daughter.
Thomas's investigations lead him to the discovery of Egypt's legendary sites such as the Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse. Thomas also meets the Queens and a whole host of their mysterious characters.