On his tenth birthday Stephen Oakley received from his grandfather William an unusual present: eight roughly carved chess pieces, along with the story of their origin. It was the only time in their close relationship that William mentioned his time in the trenches and it made a deep impression on Stephen. A few months later William died -- but not before he had laid a trail of presents, each with a powerful story, which would be delivered to his grandson every tenth year. When young journalist Emily Wray stumbles on this story she decides to drip feed it to her readers day by day, building expectations prior to the pending arrival of a sixth gift. When those expectations get out of hand Emily and Stephen flee together and begin a series of remarkable discoveries of their own.