This is a candid account of the author's 20 years as a public school headmaster, with the emphasis on his 16 years at Westminster School. The book provides an insight into this demanding role, including the use and abuse of power and what delusions of grandeur it gave rise to. Drawing on a personal journal he kept at the time, John Rae describes his complex relationships with members of staff, parents, governors and, of course, the pupils, and acknowledges his own insecurities and the sometimes damaging effects of the job on his family.