It is an adventure/quest novel in which the heroine, computer whiz Catherine Velis, must enter into a cryptic world of danger and conspiracy in order to recover the pieces of a legendary chess set once owned by Charlemagne and buried for one thousand years.

The fates of both characters are interwoven as they try to unravel the mystery behind the Montglane Service, a chess set that holds the key to a game of unlimited power.

However, when Valentine is brutally murdered in the Reign of Terror, Mireille is thrown into the midst of men and women who would pursue power at any cost, including Napoleon, Robespierre, Talleyrand, Catherine the Great, and more.

As she learns the story of the Montglane Service, she begins to realize that players of the Game may plan their moves, but their very existence makes them pawns as well.

[5] Booklist praised the novel, stating, “The taut, suspenseful narrative is interwoven with a seemingly infinite number of mathematical puzzles, crosswords, and cryptograms… History, mystery, and adventure galore.”[5]