From the lost journals of archaeologist Amelia Peabody comes a chronicle
from the "missing years"--a tale of adventure, bravery, and terror.
Readers have long wondered what befell the Emerson clan during the years
before the Great War. Now, at last, the silence is broken and the truth
revealed of a perilous journey to a secret and mysterious place hidden
deep in the heart of the unforgiving desert. An adventure prompted by
loyalty to an endangered friend--and spurred on by lies and
treachery--leads Amelia Peabody and her intrepid family into a nest of
vipers lying in wait at a remote mountain fortress. And when a dark past
and a shocking mystery are ultimately discovered, a loved one may be
lost forever.