Events from the previous volume reveal their deeper significance; in a long night conversation, the Ustad (the master of the Dschamikun) and Kara Ben Nemsi engage in introspection. It is Karl May's own personality that is at the heart of this late work, grappling seriously with himself. "The Petrified Prayer" is the second and final part of the series "In the Shadow of Ahriman." The first part is "In the Realm of the Silver Lion." In a broader sense, volumes 28 and 29 continue the story from volumes 26 and 27, but they also serve as an autobiographical key novel, born from May's impressions during his great journey to the Orient in 1899/1900. The original title of the formerly four-part travel narrative was "In the Realm of the Silver Lion I-IV." The title is also available as an e-book.