One season after the assassination attempt, Pothinus arrives at dinner to announce that the Buchis bull—sacred embodiment of the god Montu—has died at Hermonthis, which Cleopatra recognizes as a bad omen. Arsinoe suggests the death is suspicious. Pothinus proposes that Cleopatra travel to Hermonthis to select a new bull while Theos remains in Alexandria. Cleopatra, who has been spreading word that her divine gift is healing—supported by two published volumes on medicinal plants—agrees to the journey. Arsinoe persuades Cleopatra to let her come along.

That evening, Cleopatra secretly slips out of the palace in disguise, taking only an old dress and the ivory dagger on a chain. She navigates a hidden tunnel system to a sea cave and boards a small boat, but is stopped by Ahmose, her head guard, who joins her after she reveals her identity.

On the mainland, disguised as a healer named Selene, Cleopatra treats the sick. At one home, she tends to Apollodorus, a weaver suffering from fever. He briefly awakens and recognizes her as the Queen, but she denies it. After treating several more patients, she and Ahmose return to the palace, and she sleeps beside Charmion, who has shared her bed since the attack.

During the journey to Hermonthis aboard her royal barge, Cleopatra reflects on how her lavish appearance compensates for her lack of divine power. Viewing the drought-stricken fields along the Nile, she recalls her father’s words about Egypt’s survival.

A message from the courtier Elena of Syracuse warns that Caesar’s fleet has been sighted. Cleopatra initially decides to return to Alexandria immediately, but Arsinoe uses her bird, Qar, to argue that abandoning the ceremony would offend the gods. Swayed, Cleopatra agrees to complete the ritual.

At the temple, High Priestess Neferu, Cleopatra’s maternal aunt, privately reveals that the previous bull was likely poisoned by an acolyte who disappeared afterward. She gives Cleopatra a coin found in the suspect’s room. Examining it, Cleopatra discovers that while one side bears Theos’s profile, the other shows an eagle, her father’s symbol, instead of her own face—evidence of a treasonous new minting. She hides the coin and her suspicions.

During the selection ceremony, Cleopatra chooses a bull based only on its eyes, receiving no divine guidance. The priests ritually slaughter the unchosen bulls. As Cleopatra touches the hidden coin against her chest, she understands it represents the beginning of her erasure from history.

The morning after the ceremony, Arsinoe returns to the barge drunk and taunts Cleopatra with rumors that the people think her fragile, then sadly confesses that she wants to be noticed. The return voyage is strained, with riverside cities cold and unwelcoming. Charmion confirms that rumors of Cleopatra being forsaken by the gods have spread throughout Egypt.

Cleopatra conceives a plan to open a royal hospital so she can publicly demonstrate her healing abilities. She sends instructions to the librarian, Archibios, to begin the project. Days later, when Qar returns, Arsinoe claims there is no message from Pothinus. A separate pigeon, however, brings a letter from Archibios warning that Theos has recalled armies to Alexandria, where he hosts Caesar as a guest, petitioning Rome to dissolve their father’s will. Cleopatra lies to Arsinoe about the message’s content, then deduces from her sister’s relieved reaction that Arsinoe is part of the conspiracy.

In private, Cleopatra shows Charmion the letter and the treasonous coin, concluding that Pothinus had orchestrated the bull’s death to lure her from the capital. Charmion convinces her they must fight for the throne. Their plan: Get Cleopatra to Caesar unharmed so she can plead her case. Charmion proposes to impersonate Cleopatra when the barge arrives, creating a diversion. Despite Cleopatra’s fear for her safety, Charmion insists the risk is necessary. That night, dressed in simple clothes, Cleopatra prays for Charmion’s protection and dives into the Nile.

Cleopatra struggles in the river current but reaches the bank and walks through the night to Alexandria, arriving at dawn, mud-stained and blistered. At a public well, she overhears women celebrating her ousting. Apollodorus, the weaver she previously healed, defends her reputation. When she falls, he recognizes her and, as soldiers approach, offers to hide her in his home.

There, Cleopatra learns that the soldiers are already searching for her, indicating that Charmion’s diversion was discovered quickly. Apollodorus proposes smuggling her into the palace as his weaving apprentice under the guise of delivering a carpet.

Cleopatra rows them to the palace island of Antirhodos. The harbor is filled with Caesar’s Roman fleet and Theos’s mercenary ships. They dock at the servants’ entrance and pass inspection. Inside, Cleopatra overhears Theos and Pothinus discussing her alleged crimes and her need to atone for the famine. After they pass, she separates from Apollodorus and heads toward her former chambers, now occupied by Caesar.

A Roman guard harasses her in the corridor, but Ahmose intervenes, pretending not to recognize her and allowing her to escape. In the courtyard, Ahmose quietly tells her that Charmion is alive but imprisoned, and that many guards remain loyal to her. After waiting for low tide, Cleopatra enters the secret tunnel to the palace from a sea cave and pushes aside the hollow pillar concealing the passage to her chambers. She steps into the room now occupied by Caesar.