After the sentence is announced a storm sweeps through allowing Lostris and Tanus time to be secretly alone together. Tanus has his death sentence lifted, but Intef manages to escape before he can be punished for his crimes. On presenting them to Pharaoh, it is revealed that their leader is Lord Intef. Tanus, with the help of Taita, hunts down and captures the leaders of the Shrike bandits. Since his sentence is revealed on the last day of the festival of Osiris, he is to return on that day of the next festival with his task complete or face death by strangulation. Pharaoh condemns him to death for his actions, but is convinced to allow Tanus to redeem himself by attempting to eliminate all the bandits from Egypt within two years. Meanwhile, Tanus has angered Pharaoh by speaking bluntly about the troubles Egypt is in - most prominently the growing bandit threat which terrorizes all who travel outside of the major cities. Eventually Pharaoh marries Lostris and her father, Lord Intef, reluctantly gives Taita to her as a wedding gift. Lostris meanwhile is in love with the soldier Tanus, who unbeknownst to her is hated by her father. The Pharaoh of Egypt is without a male heir, and Taita inadvertently causes Pharaoh to take an interest in Lostris. Taita is owned by Lord Intef and primarily looks after his daughter, Lostris, but also plays a large role in the day-to-day running of Lord Intef's estate. River God follows the fate of the Egyptian Kingdom through the eyes of Taita, a multi-talented and highly skilled eunuch slave.

It was first published in 1993, and was adapted for television alongside The Seventh Scroll as the 1999 mini-series The Seventh Scroll. The novel can be grouped together with Wilbur Smith's other books ( The Seventh Scroll, Warlock, The Quest, Desert God and Pharaoh) on Ancient Egypt. It tells the story of the talented eunuch slave named Taita, his life in Egypt, the flight of Taita along with the Egyptian populace from the Hyksos invasion, and their eventual return. River God is a novel by author Wilbur Smith.

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