The Seventh Scroll

The tomb of the Pharaoh Mamose has lain hidden for four thousand years. Royan Al Simma, an Egyptologist, works with her husband Duraid on the Seventh Scroll, a cryptic message left by the slave Taita, who narrates River God. Within it they find a clue to where the king was buried.

They never get the chance to act on it. Thieves murder Duraid and take the papyrus. Royan escapes to Yorkshire, where she teams up with the adventurer Sir Nicholas Quenton-Harper.

The two lead expeditions into the Ethiopian highlands, hoping to reach the burial place first. A ruthless German collector and the men he has hired are after the same treasure and will take it by force.

The story is set in the present day, but it reaches back toward the world of River God. Wilbur Smith published it in 1995 as the second book in his Egyptian series, a treasure hunt that mixes ancient mystery, action and romance. Royan has lost her husband, and the race for Mamose's tomb is now hers to win or lose.