April Hall has been sent to live with her paternal grandmother, Caroline Hall. Although she misses her mother, Dorothea, and longs for the time when she can return to her, April knows she must make the best of the situation.

Not long after moving in with her grandmother, April meets a fellow sixth-grader named Melanie Ross. A fast friendship is formed when the two girls discover they share a vivid imagination and love for inventing stories and making up games. Of particular interest to both girls is ancient Egypt, and both Melanie and April spend time learning about Egypt and its ceremonies after finding a hidden storage yard in which to play. Along for the ride is also Melanie's four-year-old brother, Marshall. The storage yard is in back of a shop run by a reclusive Professor. He is as mysterious as their new game, The Egypt...