A vicious war between two nations is coming to a head, and the final movements are centred on the sailing ship Cassandra. Along with a very strange cargo, Cassandra carries Captain Colley, a man with his own sad burden, and the paranoid General Brennan, a woman convinced that her actions will end the war once and for all. Their grim mission goes entirely to plan, until the Cassandra gains an extra passenger ­ a shipwrecked archaeology professor by the name of Bernice Summerfield. Sensing something is very wrong aboard the ship, Bernice’s snooping brings her close to a terrible truth. Soon, Bernice doesn’t know who to trust, and she can no longer be sure if anyone is who they claim to be…

Bernice Summerfield has drawn the short straw. Not for her the pleasures of intergalactic conferences and highbrow lecture tours. Oh no. She’s forced to take two overlooked freshers on their very first dig. And just when it seems things can’t get any worse, her no-good ex-husband Jason turns up, claiming that he is in deadly danger. Benny finally begins to believe his wild claims, but unfortunately only after he has been kidnapped from his hotel room…