Following the tragic deaths of both her parents, baby Alice is adopted by childless relatives. They rename her and in doing so erase her past. Margaret, as she is known, is brought up in a world of luxury, but always senses that something isn't quite right. In her teens, she comes to the attention of the enigmatic Max, a recruiter for the Organisation – a secretive society whose origins stretch back almost a thousand years. Originally created to destroy the aristocracy, some say that it has become just another criminal enterprise...

Is the Organisation a force for good or evil? That depends on your perspective. Are those who want to destroy it forces for good or evil? That, too, depends on your perspective. Throughout its time, the Organisation has defeated many adversaries, but in the twentieth century it faces the biggest challenge to its survival.