What would you do if you came upon an ancient manuscript in an unknown language? The author finds himself in that conundrum and - with a little help - ends up translating the manuscript. The story of the manuscript's translation is set in modern day USA and intermittently interleaves the larger story, which is a fascinating tale set in the valley of the Amu River more than five thousand years ago and details the birth of a nation. Yuda, a brash and ambitious young man, ascends to the throne of Kunduj causing his tiny neighboring kingdom of Khet to fear an invasion. Khet's King Mayun dispatches Jenon on the impossible mission of kidnapping Yuda to preempt the invasion. That conspiracy is foiled by Balu, a lowly junior guard in Yuda's entourage, setting Balu's life on a spectacular path of meteoric rise. As Jenon reacts to the failure, Balu's life is jostled by the resulting series of conspiracies leading to an explosive murder and culminating in a remarkable change of fortunes for all the kingdoms.