The Man Who Sought Eternity

Gilgamesh, youthful king of ancient Uruk, first in all our world and greatest of heroes, is victorious over his bitterest enemy. But this glow of triumph reveals his own failings when in time of peace he proves a tyrannical, pleasure-seeking despot, taking as reward for saving his people any young woman of the town, whilst ignoring the rising anger of his people.

When Uruk's resentful citizens pray for salvation, the gods of their land create Enkidu, a man of the wild who, enticed by Shamkhat, a temple girl sent to seduce him, is brought by her to Uruk with the intention of challenging and humiliating her overbearing king.

There follows a violent confrontation neither man is able to win, after which Enkidu becomes his brother and staunch companion. They embark upon death-defying exploits: a series of fantastic encounters where they must venture into worlds beyond our own to challenge in bloody combat the grim creatures spawned by the gods themselves.

Gilgamesh offends the gods and they decree a terrible punishment. He is compelled through grief to flee alone on an exotic and fearsome passage through the Valley of Shadows on an ordeal of hardship, wonder and seduction before risking oblivion on the Waters of Death. This trail he must pursue in a desperate quest to avoid his brother's fate and win the secret of immortality.

Gilgamesh will hear at last the epic narrative of the man who endured and survived the Great Flood - the flood said to have destroyed mankind. But when compelled to face ultimate truth he will be confronted by the greatest challenge of all - the dire, impending fate of his own kingdom.

Then there is a truth only Shamkhat knows.