the story revolves around a chess set that was supposedly commissioned by Charlesmagne, that is eagerly sought after throughout history for the mysterious formula that it supposedly contains that is a great source of power. Some of the characters who appear are Nap. Bonaparte, Muamar Khaddafi, Catherine the Great of Russia, Talleyrand of France, William Blake and William Wordsworth appear in it as well. it is fascinating, and has a math/sci aspect to it as well.
Hmmmm. I wonder if that would have been one of the chess sets that had pages instead of bishops.....