At the Castle of Gormenghast , the Groan family has ruled with dusty ceremony for more than seventy generations. A clever and ambitious new kitchen boy, Steerpike, begins to insinuate himself into the affections of Lady Fuchsia Groan and to murder his way to power. Based on Mervyn Peake's novel Titus Groan, Gormenghast focuses on life in the eponymous castle, ruled by the Groan family for over 70 generations.