"The Wopuld family have built their fortune on a board game called Empire. It has transferred remarkably well to the computer generation and now the American Spraint company wants to buy them out. Alban, head of the family, thinks the Yanks should be treated with suspicion - but he also has other things on this mind. Dark secrets, a long-lost love affair and a multi-million-pound gaming business lie at the heart of Iain Banks' fabulous new novel. "--Publisher.