John Ross, a mentally ill Cherokee who thinks he's Moses, escapes from his mental hospital in North Carolina to track down and kill Pharaoh to set his people free. But who are his people? Cherokee, who were robbed of their lands by the federal government in the 1800s. Hebrews, who were enslaved in ancient Egypt. Jews, who were murdered by Nazis in the 1940s. Downtrodden people everywhere in modern America.

And who is Pharaoh? His own father, who made his childhood a living hell. His psychiatrist, who tried to discover the secrets hidden under his calm exterior. A former Nazi, subject of...