Claire Malloy—a single, widowed mother of a teenage daughter and a bookseller in Farberville, Arkansas—has finally said ‘I do’ to her swain, Peter Rosen of the local police department. Now they are on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt. Well, Claire is on her honeymoon, accompanied by her daughter Caron, and Inez, Caron’s best friend and frequent partner in adventure. Peter, meanwhile, is mostly away doing business in his new, completely undiscussed role in law enforcement.

At the glamorous Winter Palace in Luxor, Claire is intent on a quiet, uneventful stay involving shopping, and tourist sites. But despite her determined efforts to avoid trouble, the tenor of the trip quickly switches from sleepy to creepy.  First, Caron and Inez are chased through darkened deserted alleys by persons unknown. Then a blond college student of their recent acquaintance is kidnapped by two young men on horseback in a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood horror film. Something is clearly afoot in this tourist paradise…and now Claire will stop at nothing to find out what.