Published to ravishing acclaim in the UK, a fierce and suspenseful
reimagining of Homer's Iliad set in mid-1990s Northern Ireland--a
heart pounding tale of honor and revenge that "explodes with verbal
invention, rapid juxtaposition, brutality and fun" (Times Literary
Supplement).
Northern Ireland, 1996.
After twenty-five years of vicious conflict, the IRA and the British
have agreed to an uneasy ceasefire as a first step towards lasting
peace. But, faced with the prospect that decades of savage violence and
loss have led only to smiles and handshakes, those on the ground in the
border country question whether it really is time to pull back--or quite
the opposite.
When an IRA man's wife turns informer, he and his brother gather their
comrades for an assault on the local army base. But old grudges boil
over, and the squad's feared sniper, Achill, refuses to risk his life to
defend another man's pride. As the gang plots without him, the British
SAS are sent to crush the rogue terror cell before it can wreck the
fragile truce and drag the region back to the darkest days of the
Troubles. Meanwhile, Achill's young protégé grabs his chance to join the
fray in his place...
Inspired by the oldest war story of them all, Michael Hughes's virtuoso
novel explores the brutal glory of armed conflict, the cost of Ireland's
most uncivil war, and the bitter tragedy of those on both sides who
offer their lives to defend the dream of country.
