Sesha and her friends must decide where their future lies. Forced to abandon her brother and the priceless scroll that saved his life, Sesha, joined by Paser and Reb, flee Thebes, venturing up the Nile and into deshart, the red lands. They are in search of a hidden oasis and Princes Merat, who was given to a Hyksos chieftain against her will. Led by a freed spy, the friends battle endless dunes, unrelenting heat and blinding sandstorms before straggling into the Hyksos camp, where the rebels prepare for combat.