It turned out that Number 2555, Ronnie Finlay, aged 32, Protestant, married, 3 children, factory worker, shot by the IRA on 23 August 1983 as he left his factory, was her dad's best friend. It is the story of the Northern Ireland troubles told as never before; it is not concerned with the political bickering but with the lives of those who have suffered and the deaths which have resulted from more than three decades of conflict.

Mike McCahill in The Guardian wrote that "The variation of voices staves off any monotony inherent in the list format, and each story opens up some revealing front. Thornton said that he and the other authors were opposed to any potential governmental involvement in the reprinting of the book as it would "leave it open to political influence". The aim of the book is to provide a chronological list of all those who have died during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, either through direct violence or indirectly as a result of actions taken during this time.

Thornton said that much more material had become available since the book was published and he and the other authors had hoped to update it but no publishers were interested.

A soldier who was down in the street shot at the sniper and the reporter thought that saved his life. For anyone interested in Northern Ireand - or in the human cost of conflict anywhere - this is destined to be the defining work.As the car began to drive away the same soldier aimed his automatic weapon at it but this time several people told him not to fire and he didn't.