Young Prince Teppic is sent far away from his desert homeland to the city of Ankh-Morpork for the best education money can buy. Which just so happens to be at the Assassins' Guild.

But when Teppic's father dies suddenly, fate takes him away from assassination to something far more unsavoury: politics. Teppic returns home to the small, penniless kingdom of Djelibeybi to take his place as ruler. It isn't easy, being a teenage pharaoh.

As tradition dictates, the new king must build a monumental pyramid to honour his dead father. But this one might just bankrupt the kingdom, and warp the very fabric of time and space itself . . .