The book opens with a three-page Prologue focused on Sgt. Adam Schumann. Schumann is nervous and shaky; Finkel notes that he has three prescription bottles near him: one for his racing heart, one for his anxiety, and one for his nightmares.

He is awaiting a helicopter and is under escort, preparing to return home to a wife who, we are informed, had just told him she fears his return. 

We see his computer screensaver is a fireball with the words, “Fuck Iraq,” then Finkel shares with us Schumann’s private journal. Finkel gives us Schumann’s first entry, a sort of flat, newsy entry about the happenings of the day. They offer no deeper thought or emotion, until the final entry: “‘I’ve lost all hope. I feel the end is near for me, very, very near. Darkness is all I see anymore’” (3).

We then get Schumann’s voice discussing how the first deployment began for him, back when the war felt exciting. He describes the firefights as the sexiest feeling ever. During his subsequent deployment, Schumann notes a shift. Now, serving seems a nightmarish Groundhog’s Day. Each day, there are the same smells, sounds, and bitter experiences. He vacillates between wanting to kill as many enemies as possible and wanting to kill himself.