As an enslaved person without friends or family, Mara has felt alone and powerless all her life, with little or no sense of social responsibility. How does the power she wields as a spy paradoxically make her more socially and politically conscientious?

Hatshepsut summons Princess Inanni to Egypt in order to play a malicious joke on Thutmose. How does this cruelty backfire on the queen?

Mara’s flair for subterfuge and fakery serves her well as a spy but makes it hard for her to befriend others. How does her duplicity damage her relationships with Sheftu and Nekonkh?