In 1901, Rose McLeod accompanies her father to Cairo, Egypt to acquire ancient Egyptian relics for their antiquities business back home in Baltimore. A notorious slaver, known for procuring concubines for harems, abducts Rose. She is rescued, only to find that she is now the captive of a beautiful woman claiming to be the pharaoh of a kingdom hidden deep in the Sahara. Merytneit, the Chosen of Neit, believes Rose is a gift from her Goddess. Rose is not accepting any of this. She's a "freeborn American woman." During the journey across the desert to the Valley of Wind and Dreams, Rose joins Meryt's three companions as a reluctant member of Meryt's household. Rose is shocked when she discovers the women are not just Meryt's companions. "Harem. This is a harem. Rose prayed Meryt didn't think of her as the latest acquisition." Cultures clash, danger intrudes, and passions flame. Nothing is chance as Meryt and Rose play out their destinies as decreed by the ancient Egyptian Gods.