Nefertiti

Raised in a wealthy family that has supplied Egypt's kings with women for generations, Nefertiti and her younger sister Mutnodjmet have seen many changes throughout their lives. Nefertiti is a charming, ambitious, and beautiful woman who is destined to wed the unstable young king Amunhotep. Everyone hopes that her assertiveness would moderate the youthful Amunhotep's heretical ambition to abandon the gods of old Egypt, depose the Amun priests, and install a new sun deity that everyone will adore.

Nefertiti is adored by the populace from the time she arrives in Thebes. The only thing that rivals her charm is her husband's seeming magnanimity: Amunhotep bestows great promises upon his followers. But if the royal couple is unable to conceive, the ordinary people's affection will not enough. And as Nefertiti concentrates on bearing a son, she overlooks the fact that the soldiers and influential priests are conspiring to overthrow her husband's government. Her younger sister Mutnodjmet is the only one who has the discernment to see the change in the political landscape and the courage to inform the queen about it.

Thoughtful and perceptive, Mutnodjmet has never had the same ambition for authority as her sister. She longs for a peaceful life free from the entanglements of court life and family responsibilities. Her biggest dream is to live with the general who has captured her heart. Nefertiti, however, determines that her sister must stay at court and marry for political benefit rather than love when she discovers how unstable her rule is. Mutnodjmet has to be devoted to her family's needs while simultaneously standing up to her sister, the most powerful woman in Egypt, if she is to become independent.

Nefertiti vividly depicts the love, treachery, political turmoil, pestilence, and religious strife of ancient Egypt. It is a dramatic narrative of two great ladies who lived during a spectacular moment in history, told in a fast-paced and historically accurate manner.