In ancient Egypt, several hundred years before the birth of Christ, young Sinuhe (Edmund Purdom) is ahead of his time in the practice of medicine. One day, he and his friend Horemheb (Victor Mature) stumble upon the Pharaoh Akhenaten himself (Michael Wilding), who is writhing on the ground in an epileptic fit. Sinuhe intervenes to save the Pharaoh's life and ease his convulsions. The Pharaoh's court want Sinuhe and Horemheb put to death for witnessing the Pharaoh's illness but, grateful for Sinuhe's help, he instead appoints the young man Court Physician. As Sinuhe becomes embroiled in court intrigue, he also becomes involved with three beautiful women: the handmaiden Meryt (Jean Simmons), who worships him from afar; the seductive courtesan Nefer (Bella Darvi); and Baketamon, sister to the Pharaoh himself (Gene Tierney). Sinuhe, however, never marries - he is too much of a thinker. Eventually, he comes to embrace a truly dangerous belief, that Horus, Set and the rest of the gods worshipped by the Pharaoh and the rest of Egypt are false gods, and that there is only one true God.