A royal family feud is brewing in the Egyptian Royal Palace. Princess Amensu (Josephine Davison) publicly laments the country's lack of size and power and suggests that Egypt attack Greece. But Queen Nefertiti (Gabriella Larkin), supported by her son Prince Ramesses (Toi Iti), is dedicated to keeping the peace that has brought Egypt prosperity. Meanwhile, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Iolaus (Michael Hurst) sail to Egypt as Greek ambassadors. They arrive just in time to stop assassins from killing the Queen in her bedchamber but the intruders, who have already made an imprint of the Royal Seal, manage to escape. At a banquet, Hercules offers to help expose the identity of the assassins, much to the annoyance of Amensu who believes her mother should abdicate the throne. In searching for clues, Hercules and Iolaus come across a secret passage from the Queen's bedchamber to the council room where Amensu is campaigning for support of her agenda.
As they look out over the pyramids, Nefertiti tells Hercules and Iolaus that the Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead, had to be moved from the Great Pyramid to a safer location because of its powerful and dangerous magic. She also explains why her children are bitter toward her. She was forced to neglect them while undoing the damage her conquest-hungry husband caused.
As the investigation proceeds, Iolaus believes Amensu to be the perpetrator of the plot against her mother while Hercules isn't so sure. In fact, it's Ramesses who goes to a blacksmith shop to pick up a replica of the royal seal. In his haste, he grabs the red-hot seal which burns into his palm. Sporting his bandaged hand, Ramesses passes Hercules and Iolaus on his way to an emergency court session he has called. Ramesses tries to pin a charge of treason on his mother, Hercules and Iolaus by producing a phony decree, theoretically written by Nefertiti, to give half of Egypt to Greece in exchange for peace. Just as the guards are seizing them, Hercules exposes Ramesses' wounded hand and forged scroll and Ramesses is sentenced to death. Once again, Nefertiti is faced with a choice between family and Egypt. Her guilty conscience leads her to instruct Amensu to secretly free her brother. Ramesses has no intention of fleeing, and instead seeks out the high priest (Robin Kora) who supposedly knows the location of the Necronomicon. Afraid for his life, the priest shows him where the map is hidden, but warns of the Necronomicon's destructive power.
Meanwhile, Hercules and Iolaus discover Ramesses' escape and convince Amensu to help them find him. Unfortunately, it is too late for the high priest, whom they find slaughtered. Amensu blames her mother for her brother's actions and goes to confront her. Hercules and Iolaus figure out where the Necronomicon is hidden and narrowly avoid being crushed by a spiked ceiling before Hercules kicks down the chamber door to gain access. They are greeted by Ramesses who uses his newly acquired magic powers to bring stone statues to life. While impossible to fight, the two outwit the statues, which collide with one another. When Hercules goes to warn Nefertiti, she tells him how she was responsible for the death of her husband. Nefertiti had taken away the Necronomicon before he could complete the incantation for power and he was destroyed by the magic. Against a stormy backdrop of thunder and lightning at the top of an unfinished pyramid, Hercules tries to reason with Ramesses not to repeat his father's mistake, but to no avail. The two struggle over the book, which lands at Amensu's feet. She heaves the book into the air and it lands in Hercules' hands. Ramesses completes the incantation without the book and is destroyed along with the pyramid. With Nefertiti and Amensu's relationship on the mend, Hercules and Iolaus depart Egypt, complete with souvenir pyramid hats.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Michael Hurst (Iolaus)
Guest Starring: Gabriella Larkin (Nefertiti), Josephine Davison (Amensu), Toi Iti (Ramesses), Chris Graham (Courtier #1), Robin Kora (High Priest), Tony Forster (Captain), Brent Marshall (Advisor), Watchman Rivers (Guard), Jason Tahu (Assassin)
Written by Tom Oneill & George Strayton
Directed by Chris Long
Trivia: In this episode, we learn Iolaus knows virtually everything there is to know about Egypt.