All the treacherous intrigue of cosmopolitan Cairo and all the drama of Rommel s desert war in Africa come epically to life in this sweeping historical adventure. It is 1942， and civilization as the world knows it teeters on its edge. Nazi Germany stands at the height of its power. In North Africa the brilliant general Rommel s panzers threaten the Suez Canal， the oil fields of the Middle East， and the trade route to Asia， but to win Egypt， Rommel must first take the port of Tobruk and destroy the British fortress of Bir Hakeim. There， against the massive force of Rommel s Afrika Korps， a young English hussar named Wellington Rider fights beside the French Foreign Legion. Nearby， Rider s father， Anton -- the professional hunter who strides so dynamically through A Cafe on the Nile， and now a desert commando -- is obliterating Nazi air bases and petrol dumps. Not only has Anton s old friend Ernst von Decken， a German soldier of fortune， meanwhile become the enemy， but also Anton s estranged wife has entered into an affair with a Frenchman who supports Rommel s campaign. Alliances shift， loyalties deceive， and danger lies as much in the dark corners of Cairo as it does in the desert night. And at a houseboat on the Nile known as the Cataract Cafe， under the watchful eye of the Goan dwarf Olivio Alavedo， Egypt frames its destiny.