When estranged siblings Sadie and Carter Kane are reunited for their semi-annual visit there is something odd about the family trip to the British Museum's Egyptian Wing. When their father breaks apart the Rosetta Stone to release five ancient Egyptian gods their entire worlds fall apart. Julius Kane is possessed by Osiris and captured by Set, the god of chaos. Sadie and Carter are swept away to New York by their Uncle Amos before the magicians from the House of Life may capture them.
In New York Amos's house is the New York base of the House of Life, and full of mysteries, along with some out-of-the-norm pets: Khufu, a baboon, and Philip of Macedonia, an albino crocodile. Amos explains that Sadie and Carter are the Blood of the Pharaohs--descended from ancient royal lines. But before they can begin to train as magicians of the House of Life Amos vanishes and their home is under attack. Sadie's cat, Muffin, transforms into the cat Goddess Bast before they children's very and leads them to the safety of a portal. However, before they can truly escape, Bast is attacked by the scorpion goddess Serquet. The two are rescued by Zia, a magician from the House of Life.
Zia brings Sadie and Carter to the House of Life headquarters where they meet Iskandar, the Chief Lector and Head of the House, who invites the Kane children to train there. Both Sadie and Carter begin to spirit travel in their dreams: Carter has visions of Set planning to destroy North America and conquer the world, and Saide has visions of the Egyptian Pantheon and their struggles to maintain Ma'at--the order of the universe. After a particularly restless night at the House of Life, Zia leads Sadie and Carter to a test which will determine their expertise. Before they can finish though, Iskandar is found to have died after two thousand years as Chief Lector, and his replacement, Desjardins orders their execution for housing Isis and Horus. Zia sends them on their path to end Set's plan, but the House of Life is hot on their trail.
In the end Sadie and Carter are faced with life-altering choices and must surrender to their destinies to save the world from Chaos. Blending human creativity with the power of the gods, they change the course of history and set the stage for an even greater battle. Sadie and Carter's story examines and challenges the ideas of fate and convention, the House of life is mired in convention refusing its members the chance to defeat the enemies who truly challenge Ma'at and use all the resources available. Sadie and Carter learn the value of friendship and family ties as they discover their true motives and shed the false motivations to find themselves.
This is the first in a new series from Rick Riordan chronicling the adventures of Sadie and Carter Kane as they discover more about themselves and their ancestors in order to help balance order and chaos in the universe. The book is appropriate for readers as young as third grade.
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