Four scientists embark on a mission to solve the mystery of how ancient Egyptians preserved bodies through mummification. They use various documentary conventions like time-lapse photography to show the passing of time, expert interviews with volume adjustments and cutaways, archival photos of the subject Alan and his wife to make the audience sympathetic, and handheld camera footage of an expert walking in Egypt to create a sense of realism. Their goal is to crack the code of the ancient Egyptian embalming technique.