"Under Fire" is an account of Dan Cruickshank and David Vincent's quest for the fragile treasures and wonders of a world caught up in conflict. Travelling in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine, their personal account of cultures in extremis also reveals the spirit and history of the people they meet on their journeys. Inspired to make their quest after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Dan searched for the country's great treasures, travelling out into the country in the aftermath of the war. There he discovered the heroism of individuals who had saved many precious artworks, but he also found the remains of the destruction of the Taliban, including the two giant Buddhas. Carved into the mountainside of the Hindu Kush Range on the Silk Route in the second century, the Buddhas survived until March 2001 when the Taliban destroyed them. While Dan had initially sought to discover the fate of the country's treasure he rapidly found that he was also witnessing a side of Afghanistan so rarely seen in newspaper headlines: its culture and the spirit of its people. As the threat of conflict with Iraq grew in 2002 Dan and David turned their attention to Iraq.