Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and gender discrimination.

The novel begins in New York City in 1978; Charlotte Cross works as an associate curator of Egyptian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (often known as “the Met”). Despite her expertise and long tenure in her role, she has not advanced and often feels frustrated with her boss, Frederick. Charlotte’s career has stalled partially because she refuses to return to Egypt after a mysterious visit decades earlier.

Secretly, Charlotte has been researching an ancient Egyptian queen named Hathorkare. Hathorkare began ruling as regent when her young stepson, Saukemet II, became pharaoh (king of Egypt) as a child; she eventually began ruling as pharaoh in her own right because, at the time, women could not rule. Eventually, Saukemet seized the throne; according to most historians, he destroyed most of the images of his stepmother as an act of revenge. However, Charlotte has a theory that the destruction occurred much later and, therefore, had a different motivation. Charlotte’s research has the potential “to turn a long-held assumption upside down, revive the name and reputation of Hathorkare, and make a major contribution to the study of ancient Egyptian history” (7).