The Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramesses I has ordered the death of all firstborn Hebrew males, but a Hebrew woman sets her infant son adrift on the Nile in order to save him. The infant is rescued from the Nile by an Egyptian princess who decides to adopt the boy even though her servant recognizes that the child is Hebrew and protests. As a young man, Prince Moses becomes a successful general, claiming victory in a war with the Nubians of Ethiopia and then entering Egypt into an alliance with them. Moses loves Nefretiri (she loves him), who is the "throne princess" and must marry the next Pharaoh. An incident occurs when an elderly woman, who is greasing the ground for the pillar of stone to move easier, is almost crushed to death when her scarf gets caught under the slab of stone, prompting Moses to scold overseer Baka. Moses frees the elderly woman from her dangerous chore, not realizing that the elderly woman was his natural mother Yoshebel. While working on the building of a treasure city for Pharaoh Seti I's Jubilee, Moses meets the stonecutter Joshua, who tells him of the Hebrew God. Moses institutes numerous reforms concerning the treatment of the slaves on the project, and eventually Prince Rameses charges Moses with planning an insurrection, pointing out that the slaves are calling Moses the "Deliverer" of prophecy. Moses defends himself against the charges, arguing that he is simply making his workers more productive by making them stronger and happier and proves his point with the impressive progress he is making. During this time, Rameses has been charged by his father with finding out whether there really is a Hebrew fitting the description of the Deliverer. Nefretiri learns from the servant Memnet that Moses is the son of Hebrew slaves. Nefretiri kills Memnet and reveals the story to Moses, who goes to Bithiah to learn the truth. Bithiah evades his questions, but Moses follows her to the home of Yoshebel and thus learns the truth.