Crnobrnja discusses in detail the part of the drama most visible to the world — the rapid dissolution of the country following civil war and internationalization. He emphasizes the dichotomy between the lack of compromise on the part of the Yugoslav participants and the natural tendency to compromise that characterizes both the European Communities and the processes and actions of the United Nations. In a synthesis of the immediate situation, he draws together the threads of the story to consider and analyse possible future scenarios and to place them in a broader Balkan and European context.

The updated second edition provides an evaluation of events in the ongoing struggle over the last two years and the prospects for peace in the near future.