This book tells the story of the Grimaldi family and their small principality of Monaco, from their 12th-century origins as Genoese pirates to the current ruler, Prince Rainier III. During 800 years of bawdy scandal and bitter power struggles, the Grimaldis have preserved their rule over "the rock", surviving the French Revolution and two World Wars without weapons or a proper army - by virtue of intrigue, cunning and a shrewd choice of brides. The early story of the Grimaldis is bound up in the history of Europe. In the last decade of the 19th century the Grimaldis set about turning Monaco from rags to riches by exploiting its location on the Mediterranean and its fine climate and by establishing a gambling casino in Monte Carlo. The first American Princesse de Monaco was a rich heiress from New Orleans and the model for Proust's "Princesse de Luxembourg", wife of the sea-faring Albert I. The final section of the book describes the battle for power between Aristotle Onassis and Rainier, Monaco's expansion into the sea and the deaths of Princess Grace and Princess Caroline's husband.