5,201 years ago, in this 3rd book of the Raising Up Pharaoh epic, the king and queen of the new nation in the Oasis of Hope send three scout patrols on alternative routes to the western sea. The patrols are charged to avoid provoking enmity, make alliances where possible, rendezvous on the coast, examine the nation's ultimate destination, and return to recommend the preferred route. At some cities, the patrols encounter conspiracies to overthrow kings. At other cities, the kings have been recently murdered. As the patrols converge on their planned rendezvous, they find themselves travelling in the midst of the avenging kings' troops and fleets. Are they risking their mission in a distraction, or is there a larger benefit in their involvement? Do they have a choice? Thus continues the six-novel romantic adventure chronicling the origins of the city-states in the Fertile Crescent at the dawn of written history, and the planting of the longest lasting civilization and cultural roots of today's world. The series is written for readers of all ages. The tone is controlled by zooming back to avoid close-ups of violence or sexuality, yet without stripping its intensity. The story unfolds through the viewpoints of the teenagers, the couple, others drawn to them, and their foes. The setting of this third book expands out of the southwestern Iraqi desert through Saudi Arabia to Jordan, to Syria, and Lebanon. In later books, the setting expands across the Middle East and North Africa. Each book has its own maps. The diverse cast speak a pidgin of proto-Indo-European and proto-Afro-Semitic, which is presented in U.S. English.