In Egypt the ancient rubs up against the modern. In the company of Anthony Sattin, a tireless and fearless researcher on the ground, undaunted by pi-dogs and charlatans, we quarter the country in taxis and trains, rickety buses and jam-packed pick-up trucks. We follow him as he bribes his way into moonlit temples, as he tracks down snake hunters in their reptilian lairs and as he travels from the deserts of Luxor as far as the damp streets of Liverpool in search of long-lost manuscripts and modern magic that might help explain eternal myths.