Starting from a working-class background in North Belfast, he describes his progress through St Malachy's College to Trinity College Dublin, where he met and befriended Pat Finucane, later assassinated by loyalist paramilitaries. Though they would go their different ways politically, it never came between them. After graduation, Kevin entered the RUC as its first Catholic graduate and progressed steadily through the ranks, reaching the position of Detective-Superintendent. He helped investigate hundreds of paramilitary murders, including several of the most infamous incidents during these turbulent years. He investigated the assassination attempt on Bernadette McAliskey; Warrenpoint, where eighteen members of the Parachute Regiment were killed; and the activities of various 'rogue cops'.He was press officer for the Omagh bombing investigation and gives the inside story of this great tragedy. His experiences as head of the Anti-Racketeering Squad and the Drugs Squad give an unequalled insight into the criminal activities of paramilitaries as well as the quite distinct political agendas of the Northern Ireland Office, Special Branch and M15. Ultimately, these conflicts would bring about his downfall, which he describes with painful honesty - thus the title of the book.