An adventurous debutante refuses to settle for society's expectations-and unleashes international intrigue (and possibly an ancient curse) along the way.

Agnes Wilkins is standing in front of an Egyptian mummy, about to make the first cut into the wrappings-about to unlock ancient (and not-so-ancient) history. She sees herself wearing a pith helmet with antique dust swirling around her. She sees herself as a young Egyptologist who has arrived in Cairo on camelback.
She sees herself dreaming. Because reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels-or dust even. No, Agnes's encounter with a mummy is happening on Lord Showalter's verdant green lawn, where butlers abound and strolling sitar players strain to create an exotic "atmosphere" for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.
And a beginning. Not just of Agnes's debut season and the ever-shrinking scope of her future-home, husband, and high society. No, something else begins as well, because the mummy Agnes unwraps is more than a mummy: It's a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny-unleashing a mystery, an international intrigue-and possibly a curse.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 12+ years.

There are 320 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Simon & Schuster .

Jennifer Bradbury is the author of the middle grade novel River Runs Deep and of several critically acclaimed young adult novels: A Moment Comes, Wrapped, and her debut, Shift-which Kirkus Reviews called "fresh, absorbing, compelling" in a starred review. Shift was picked as an ALA and a School Library Journal Best Book for Young Adults and is also on numerous state reading lists. A former English teacher and one-day Jeopardy! champ, she lives with her family in Burlington, Washington.