Synopsis: "Edwin Fowler is a curious specimen. He devours books on ancient cultures with a ravenous hunger, speaks a dozen ancient languages as fluently as his own... And yet, this raccoon has managed to turn down every opportunity presented before him to see the remnants of these wondrous civilizations in the flesh. No one knows the root of this reluctance, and he least of all. But one day, an opportunity comes along which Edwin cannot turn down – if only because he and his brother are wanted for murder. With no way back, the two raccoons pack their bags and flee England in the company of one Lord Charles Dobbs, an eccentric hare whose goal of finding one of Egypt's greatest treasures may be tinged with something more than the pure desire to possess it – something darker, even, than the blackest greed or the greenest envy. But such things are the last on Edwin's mind. A treasure so great, after all, has other seekers; those who would kill to attain it. A race that had begun thousands of years ago may finally draw to a close, as Edwin and his friends rush to assemble the clues and unlock the mysteries of one known to the ancients as the Teacher." (publisher's blurb)