Set in 1881, a year before the start of British colonial rule, it is based on the true story of the Abd el-Rasuls, an Upper-Egyptian clan that had been robbing a cache of mummies they have discovered at tomb DB320 near the village of Kurna, and selling the artifacts on the black market. After a conflict within the clan, one of its members made a crucial decision when the Antiquities Service arrived.
Freed after spending years in prison, an activist's homecoming turns into a dark affair as his disillusion clashes with his family's expectations. Demonstrating Chahine’s eclecticism, this is an elegant melodrama, exuberant musical, layered allegory, and profound portrait of personal and political disillusionment.
Chief Morsy is a lightkeeper staying at a faraway lighthouse. He marries So'aad and shortly returns to the lighthouse where he recounts to Nour his adventures with women. When he sends his wife a letter with Nour, Morsy grows suspicious of his wife's fidelity. Suspicions nourished by his jealousy.
