A policeman's lot is not a happy one or so the song goes, but throw in the IRA, loyalist paramilitaries, the British army and a Republican hunger strike, and it gets a whole lot worse. Carson Clarke, Jim Reid and their colleagues in the RUC are charged with policing a provincial town in Derry, arguably the most dangerous environment in the developed world. They're trained to deal with car accidents and shoplifters, but history and politics just keep getting in the way as a series of shootings and bombings bring Northern Ireland to the brink of civil war. Their job gradually becomes a struggle to survive, and just keeping sane gets difficult as, bit by bit, their world collapses around them.

Written with the authenticity of someone who served as a police officer in Northern Ireland at the time, and who lived through and experienced similar events. This book was also written very close in time to the historical events and carries the authenticity of the dialogue and thinking employed by the characters.