Senmut’s father lies unconscious and perhaps dying from a cobra’s bite. Desperate to save him, Senmut spends hours carving an image of Sekhmet, goddess who causes and cures illness. But in the process of carving, he accidentally kills a dove when he tosses aside a tool. His punishment for killing the sacred animal is hard labor in the Nubian Desert. The only way he can personally survive is through carving an image of Sekhmet. Later, he is caught stealing gold for his carving, but the governor notices the beauty of the statue and believes it may cure the son of Rameses II, currently suffering from the plague. The boy is cured and Senmut is appointed Royal Sculptor.