Egypt is a shadow of its former self. An army of barbarians mounted on horse-drawn chariots has swept through the Empire, destroying everything in its path. Known as the Hyksos, these "leaders from foreign lands" have reduced the country of the pharaohs to slavery. Only the city of Thebes resists, protected by the widow of the last pharaoh, Teti the Small. But Teti knows that her reign is limited, that it's only a matter of time before her men succumb to the barbarities of the cruel Hyksos. She has an eighteen-year-old daughter, however: Ahhotep. Fierce, beautiful, and courageous, this girl whom history will call "Egypt's Joan of Arc" will never accept defeat. And so she decides to re-ignite the flame of Egyptian resistance. All by herself. Combining historical fact with a vivid imagination, Christian Jacq tells the enthralling true story of this Ancient Egyptian warrior-heroine. Without the courage and passion of Queen Ahhotep, the Valley of the Kings and the glorious treasures of the pharaohs, including Ramses the Great, would never have existed.

17th century B.C. The barbaric Hyksos have taken possession of the whole of Egypt, imposing their harsh rule with unimaginable cruelty. Only Queen Ahhotep resists. Not far from Thebes, the only city which retains its independence, she has established a secret military base to train the soldiers who will one day set her country free. Heading an increasingly powerful army, Ahhotep steals victory after victory, in spite of the treacherous behaviour of a handful of 'collaborators'. From south to north, the Egyptians begin to re-group, becoming stronger by the day - and the occupying forces no longer seem quite so invincible. But are Ahhotep and her followers being lured into the most elaborate of traps...?

In the north, the barbaric Hyksos still rule with unimaginable brutality. Queen Ahhotep, meanwhile, has recaptured much of the south—but at a terrible price: her husband has been killed in combat and her elder son, Kames, was mysteriously poisoned. Ahhotep refuses to be crowned pharaoh and prepares her second son, young Amose, to take power instead. Thanks to her, the Egyptians are now ready for the final battle. They lay siege to Avaris, the Hyksos capital—and once the city is taken, nothing can stop them. After 100 years of occupation and thousands of violent deaths, it looks as though the Egyptian empire may at last rise from the ashes.