The individuals whose lives are so vividly recounted include the royal sculptor Thutmose, who is remembered as the creator of one of the best-known pieces of ancient Egyptian art—the plaster bust of Nefertiti. Then there is Inamun, the temple official who set out on an heroic adventure down the Nile in search of materials to build a sacred barge to the god Amun. Other tales include that of the young weaver Nakhte, who had a short and tragic life; Weni the pyramid builder, who ended up buried in the very pyramid he helped to build; and Pharaoh Nectanebo II, last of the Egyptian pharaohs, who sought to protect his realm through magical ritual.