The Roman Empire, AD 108. Emperor Trajan, busy rebuilding Rome, decides to combine a sightseeing tour of Egypt s ancient monuments with an expedition to raid the Nile s vast treasure trove of Greek and Egyptian statuary for the embellishment of his many building projects. For this he needs along his master of imperial ceremonies and statuary, Junilla Rufia, and she won t go anywhere without her son Rufio and he won t leave behind his lover, the noble Quintus. And so the adventurous young men are whisked off to a tour of the exotic land aboard the mighty cruise boat Cleopatra of the Nile in...