Relentlessly, King Melim-anna of Uruk insists on the right of the first bridal night, regardless of the growing frustration of his people or the advice of his confidants. To escape his cruelty, Dumu-ugen decides to commit suicide – but the goddess of creation, Namma, foils her plan and hides the bride-to-be in the middle of the salt sea. When the king mysteriously disappears on the sea voyage there, the hymn writer Mesh-ursang finally sets out to find the missing man. But he has reckoned neither with the sea monster guarding the maiden, nor with the boundless jealousy of Inanna, the goddess of love. Not to mention Dumu-ugen herself.