A teenager’s deepening obsession with a fantasy roleplaying game triggers a dangerous dissolution of the boundaries between his reality and the game’s mythic world. Scott Gardiner finds himself increasingly consumed by the mechanics and lore of 'Hobgoblin,' a game rooted in Irish mythology that begins to dictate his actions and perceptions. As he navigates the pressures of his environment, the game serves as both an escape and a catalyst for his psychological fragmentation. The narrative follows his descent as external forces and internal neuroses collide, challenging his ability to distinguish between genuine threats and the manifestations of his own imagination.

This novel reflects the cultural anxieties surrounding the rise of tabletop gaming during the early 1980s. The narrative structure aligns with the era's tendency to pathologize fantasy engagement as a symptom of underlying psychological instability. Readers often note the book's proximity to the moral panics of the time, specifically the urban legends involving roleplaying gamers in university utility tunnels. The work serves as a period piece that captures a specific moment in pop culture history when tabletop games were viewed with suspicion by the mainstream. Its focus on the protagonist's mental decline provides a clinical, if dated, perspective on the intersection of hobbyism and identity formation.