Archaeologists investigate the veracity of one of the Bible's greatest and strangest stories, that of the ten plagues of Egypt. The hunt for the truth takes scientists to the ruins of ancient Egypt's greatest temple, the crater of a colossal volcano and a lost city in the desert.

The ancient Nabatean city of Petra lies in the barren desert of southern Jordan. Its ruins, spread across an area of over one square mile, include temples, a great theatre and hundreds of tombs built into the desert's rocky cliffs. Today, Petra attracts tourists in their thousands. But it also holds a mystery that has long puzzled historians. What could have led such a grand and elaborate city to be abandoned? After studying the latest evidence, Dr Tom Paradise proposes a new theory about its demise.