It’s the winter of 1929, and Lady Lucy Revelstoke and her pickpocket-turned-maid, Elf, are back in the third installment of The Merry Widow Murders — this time voyaging to Egypt. Lucy is particularly interested in the ancient sites, and Elf — well, Elf is keen to find out how the tomb raiders mastered their trade!
The voyage should be a treat, as two rival teams of archeologists will give lectures while on route to their digs. Old-school Doctor Phineas King and his daughter, Isla, make up one team, while the other’s led by flamboyant, privately funded American adventurer Anton Margolis. Both teams seek to discover a prized tomb, despite local whispers of a curse that befalls upon all those who dare to disturb the pharaoh’s grave.
Soon, an archeologist drops dead at a cocktail party. Is this the work of the pharaoh’s curse, or someone with a personal motive? As accusations of antiquity smuggling come to light and a distraught clairvoyant predicts more violence, Lucy and Elf race to find the fiendish murderer before they strike again.