The book begins with the birth of 'Sekeeta'—destined to become the 'Pharaoh' of the title—and continues to narrate her life story from childhood through her moving initiation into the Mysteries, to old age and death. Grant's descriptions of life in Egypt during the 1st Dynasty are both compelling and poetic. At times her language rises to such heights as to carry the reader into a higher and better world—bringing tears of mingled joy and sadness to one's eyes.