On 6th December 1921 Arthur Grffith and Michael Collins, the plenipotentiary representatives of Ireland in negotiations with the British government signed the document which gave 26 counties of Ireland dominion status and a remarkable degree of political autonomy. Eight months later both were dead, one worn out by attrition and political strife, the other shot dead by former comrades, and the country which should have been celebrating its great leap towards freedom crucified by civil war. The story of this brothers conflict with its score of killings, torture, reprisals and long-lasting bitterness is told in this book. Ireland has suffered much in its long history but few episodes are as poignant, bloody and unnecessary as this one. The Civil War is the nightmare from which Ireland has barely woken.