The setting of play in this module is Wentworth, a small manor village of historic and strategic importance. Wentworth occupies the flat land to the west of a narrow pass, Shaltor Notch, in one of the branches of the Snowpeak Mountains. Through this notch runs the Kingsway, a paved road many centuries old, patrolled and maintained by the king. Spanning the notch is a fortification that has been turned into an inn.

He who controls the Kingsway controls the flow of goods and troops across the province. He who controls Shaltor Notch controls the Kingsway, and he who controls Wentworth Manor controls Shaltor Notch. The basic plot deals with the takeover of Wentworth Manor, with the intent to capture Shaltor Notch, disrupt trade, and break the King's hold on this part of the province. When the module begins the baron's wife has died mysteriously, the baron is paralyzed with grief, the baron's son is a puppet of the man taking over, who is scheduled to marry the baron's daughter.