Would the contents of an ancient Egyptian scroll when deciphered threaten the three major religions of the world? Etienne Cloutier, a French-Canadian archaeologist, is asked by his longtime friend and colleague Haroun Abdul el-Kurdi, Department Head of Antiquities and the Cairo Museum, to come to Egypt to decipher a perplexing scroll that has just surfaced. He is told the author is none other than Moses. From the very start, there are outside forces trying to get hold of the scroll. His acceptance to do the deciphering sets off a series of events that threatens his very life. When the scroll is deciphered, it reveals that its contents are purely religious and discloses Moses' early religious concepts. It is these new concepts that Moses would later pass on to the Children of Israel. When a meeting with the religious heads of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is held and the contents and author of the scroll are revealed, hostility breaks out. In the end, it is the Vatican ambassador to Egypt who pleads that the scroll be kept a secret, hidden away, even suggesting that it be destroyed."