Egypt, Alexandria: * Bartimaeus meets Ptolemy. * Bartimaeus, now known by his Egyptian byname, ‘Rekhyt’, is employed by the magician Ptolemy and quickly becomes his friend. * For two brief years Ptolemy devotes himself to understanding spirits. He sends Bart and his other djinn – Affa, Penrenutet and Teti – out to help the ordinary people with their problems. * Ptolemy becomes popular, and arouses the resentment of his cousin, the Egyptian king.