Egypt, 17th century B.C. In the north, the barbaric Hyksos still rule with unimaginable brutality. Queen Ahhotep, meanwhile, has recaptured much of the south - but at a terrible price: her husband killed in combat and her elder son, Kames, mysteriously poisoned. Ahhotep refuses to be crowned pharaoh and prepares instead her second son, young Amose, to take power. But it's thanks to her that the Egyptians are now ready for the final battle. They lay siege to Avaris, the Hyksos capital - and once the city is taken, nothing further can stop them. After 100 years of occupation and thousands of violent deaths, it looks as though at last the Egyptian empire will rise again from the ashes - all thanks to the courage and determination of a woman.