The book centred on the palace intrigue that had occurred in the Egyptian court a few years before Erimem had met the Doctor and Peri. By expanding greatly on the scenario hinted at in The Eye of the Scorpion, it gave the reader a portrait the everyday aspects of her family life as a teenager. Since this impacted on her royalty, though, the novel also explained exactly why Erimem found herself in the position of being the most legitimate heir to her father, and why she was not well-remembered by modern historians.