According to Interpol, Northern Ireland is the most dangerous place in the world for a policeman. The Royal Ulster Constabulary costs #1 million a day to operate, and since 1970 nearly 300 of its members have been killed and more than 9000 injured. Remarkably, there are almost 20 times as many applicants as vacancies in the force, whose techniques and expertise are emulated throughout the world. Daily, its members risk being gunned down or bombed, both by the Provisional IRA and Loyalist paramilitary groups. Yet a question mark hangs over its impartiality. This is an account, by a journalist and Ulsterman, of the RUC's history. Drawing on official records, the memories of serving and retired officers, and the opinions of those both in support and opposition, it covers the controversial use of plastic bullets, the management style of Sir Kenneth Newman, the Stalker affair and the continuing ramifications of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.