The red tide of war rises again in Sumer. The last spark of a millennia-old empire burns bright in the cradle of the world...A teenager and his friends embark on a rite of passage at the marshland mouth of the Persian Gulf. They return as heroes of the new king, but have left a part of themselves behind. An Egyptian immigrant, doomed to slavery by the sins of her father. The perilous quest to save her sister from the same fate, and the web of deceit she must weave to make it so. The new king himself, who is thrust into his father's footsteps by a centuries-old enemy. His mother, who will stop at nothing to maintain her family's power. The dawn of history is being written. These are the souls who write it.