A New York-based freelance photographer, Alexandra Stead, accepts a commission to photograph an army unit in Iraq, embedded with a Bradley Fighting Vehicle cavalry unit in Baghdad. Alex is told to focus on Matt McDermott, a young lieutenant who is to be set up as a symbol lic 'hero' to represent the US Army. She is unwittingly caught up in a cynical CIA plot to bolster the President's popularity in the run-up to the 2004 election, as he bathes in the glory reflected by his 'golden boy'. But Alex discovers a secret that could potentially bring everything crashing down. She experiences first-hand the horrors of war and realises that Lieutenant McDermott is fighting an excruciating and destructive battle with his conscience. This is a compelling work, combining the pace and action of a gripping thriller with the raising of political and ethical issues surrounding war.

Roy David has forty years' experience as a journalist and has written for most of Britain's national newspapers. On leaving school in Liverpool, he became a full-time musician as a drummer for a Cavern-based blues band, appearing with acts including Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones. He is the best-selling author of Lester Piggott: Downfall of a Legend (Heinemann, 1989), which reached No. 9 in The Sunday Times list and was short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. He lives in Natwich, Cheshire.