Huy has a comfortable life for himself, thanks to the monthly payments of gold he receives from Pharaoh Amunhotep II. But Amun’s warning for the Pharaoh, about respecting the laws of Ma’at though he may already be considering breaking them, worry Huy.

When he is called to the Pharaoh’s palace to interpret a dream, all becomes clear to him. But does he have the courage to risk displeasing the Pharaoh to say what he knows is right, in the eyes of Ma’at? Or will he bow to the pressures of his ruler and risk displeasing the gods and condemning Egypt itself?

The main issue I had with this book is the same as I had for the first book: an overall lack of plot. The part about Huy being called to give advice for the Pharaoh happens past the midway part of the book. Too much time is spent on the meaningless details of his everyday life. He gets up, treats the villagers, sees into their future and has pain and needs to drink poppy to make it go away. It does not need to be repeated each time it happens.

As some point the book skips ahead ten or twelve years and I wondered why that couldn’t happen earlier?

There was also too much description about the foods the characters were eating. I like research and historically accurate details, but at a certain point there is a line being crossed into being too descriptive (like Jonathan Kellerman can be with describing each street his character drives by to get to a crime scene).

Not only is Huy aimless for much of the story but he is also removed from the conspiracies in the Pharaoh’s court – he lives far from the capital – that hugely impact his life. The plot picked up a little near the end, but not enough.