The mysterious cities of the dead, Egypt's desert necropoli, set the scene of this book, which is based on the journey of Lucie Duff-Gordon in the last century, but interweaves the modern-day experiences of the author, and life and death in Ancient Egypt. Lucie Duff-Gordon, suffering from tuberculosis, went to Egypt to die and in fact survived long enough to become deeply involved in the culture and to live almost as a native Egyptian. Like her, the author has the great advantage of a profound love of the country and involvement with its inhabitants. Basing her research on the many letters written by Lucie Duff-Gordon back to her family and friends in England, Katherine Frank writes of a haunting and still unspoilt Egypt and its attitude to the dead.