A British detective recounts his years of service abroad, investigating murder, corruption, and human trafficking amid the chaos of war.

In 2000, Dorset police detective Tony Nott led the British forensic team on exhumations in Kosovo, unearthing the horrific brutality carried out by Serb paramilitaries. He then worked in Bosnia for the UN, where he led a small team combating human trafficking. Between 2004 and 2005, he served in Iraq, where he witnessed the Shia takeover of the police and encountered unsettling human rights abuses. In this bracing memoir, Nott recounts all of these experiences and more.

Nott was involved in the investigation into the murder of British aid worker Margaret Hassan, and is deeply critical of the role played by the UK government. He describes butting heads with senior members of the Iraqi Police, including one who declined to reopen a murder case in which local police were suspected.

Nott also describes his two years of service in Israel and Palestine, where he worked with a US-led team to reform the Palestinian security services in cooperation with a European effort. Whilst this book covers the worst of human behavior, it also highlights the bravery and triumph of the ordinary people who were caught up in these events.