The Wopuld family built its fortune on a board game called Empire! - now a hugely successful computer game So successful, the American Spraint Corp wants to buy the firm out Young renegade Alban, who has been evading the family clutches for years, is run to ground and persuaded to attend the forthcoming family gathering - part birthday party, part Extraordinary General Meeting - convened by Win, the Wopuld matriarch and most powerful member of the board, at Garbadale, the family's highland castle Being drawn back into the bosom of the clan brings an inevitable and disconcerting confrontation with Alban's past