Bloody Heroes

In the winter of 2001, British special forces prepare to seize the merchant vessel MV Nisha after intelligence suggests that terrorists may be using it to support an attack. The operation, codenamed Ocean Strike, brings the SBS, SAS and intelligence agencies together in a rapidly developing domestic counterterrorist mission.

The narrative then moves to Afghanistan, where British and American special-forces soldiers become involved in the fighting and prisoner uprising at Qala-i-Jangi. Lewis uses participant accounts to connect operations conducted at sea and on land, showing the uncertainty, improvisation and violence of the opening phase of the post-11 September war.