The story of a great British car marque and aero engine manufacturer, this is also the story of how a dedicated engineer called Henry Royce met an aristocratic car dealer called Charlie Rolls. Other important characters in the tale include promotional genius Claude Johnson and engineer Ernest Hives, without whom the firm could not have succeeded, or lasted as long as it did. From 1912 Rolls-Royce pursued a one-model policy; all Rolls-Royces made from 1912 to 1925 were 40/50hp "Silver Ghosts". In 1922 Rolls-Royce added the Twenty and in 1925 the 40/50hp New Phantom. 1929 saw the 20/25 and the Phantom II. In 1935 it was the Phantom III, in 1936 the 25/30, and after the war the Silver Wraith. Then followed the Silver Dawn, Silver Cloud, postwar Phantoms and the new unitary-bodied Silver Shadow and its successors. The complexities of the Vickers and BMW takeovers are elucidated, bringing the story up to date.