This account of the clan among the Celtic peoples of Europe describes the origins of the clan system and how it was brought to Scotland. It goes on to discuss the tense relationship between a remote government and a society resistant to change that led to the brutal destruction of a whole social structure. This extraordinary story is told as a whole and through the history of its largest clan groupings -- Gordons, Macgregors, Mackenzies, Stewarts, Macdonalds, and Campbells.