While on their honeymoon in Egypt, newlyweds Simon Doyle and Linett Ridgeway are constantly harassed by Simon's ex-fiancée Jackie De Bellefort who feels her ex-best friend has stolen the love of her life. A holidaying Hercules Poirot counsels Jackie to put an end to her antics, fearing that all of this can only end in tragedy. When one of the passengers is killed while on a cruise down the Nile, Poirot must sift through an odd assortment of passengers, all of whom may have something to hide. There is Linett's financial advisor from the US, her French maid who clearly has something to hide, the Austrian doctor who keeps mostly to himself and the left leaning philosopher who despises the rich.