Throughout the story, the author describes the tactics, methods and equipment evolved by the army to meet the ever-changing challenge of the IRA, their sympathizers, and their opponents - from howling mobs and decoy children to car bombs and mobile mortars. Accounts of specific incidents as experienced by some of the regiments that have served 'tours' in the province, including the Paras, the Green Jackets, the Royal Artillery and the Royal Marines, convey vividly the feel of being out on patrol in Belfast and Londonderry - where at every street corner there could be a high-velocity rifle pointing directly at your back.