In the tradition of Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero comes an explosive insider's account of life as a private soldier in Iraq The Pay: $1,000 a day. The Cost: Never knowing if you'll make it out alive. In September 2003, James "Ash" Ashcroft, a former British Infantry captain who served in West Belfast and Bosnia, landed in Iraq as a gun for hire. It was the beginning of an 18-month journey into blood and chaos. In this action-packed page-turner, Ashcroft reveals the dangers of his adrenalin-fueled life as a security contractor in Baghdad, where private soldiers outnumber non-U.S. Coalition forces in a war that is slowly being privatized. From blow-by-blow accounts of days under mortar bombardment to revelations about life operating deep within the Iraqi community, Ashcroft shares the real, unsanitized story of the war in Iraq direct from the front line.