When the retiring young bank clerk Smith ducks into the British Museum one day to avoid the rain, he finds himself confronted with the bust of an Egyptian lady so beautiful that he becomes infatuated with her. His obsession leads him to read extensively on the subject of Egyptology, learn to read hieroglyphics, and gradually become an established Egyptologist.

Every winter he travels to Egypt and undertakes archeological work. Then, in the third year, he makes an astounding discovery which changes the course of his life forever.