Tracks the defining episodes in the relationship between India and Pakistan since 1998.

Prologue : The spider's web -- Settling a score : from 1947 to the nuclear tests -- "A brilliant tactical operation" : Pakistan's defeat in the Kargil War of 1999 -- The general and the poet : from the Kargil War to the Agra summit -- The assassins from afar : Pakistan and Afghanistan -- "Somebody's going to pay" : from the September 11 attacks to the end of 2001 -- The attack on the Indian Parliament: the trial of Afzal Guru -- Pursuit of valour : the India-Pakistan military standoff, 2001-2002 -- In the name of the people : a short history of the Kashmir dispute from 1846 to state elections in 2002 -- The noble lie : the India-Pakistan peace talks, 2004-2007 -- War by other means : the attack on Mumbai -- Anatomy of murder : Pakistan's relationship with its north-west frontier, 1947-2011 -- Pursuit of parity : the closing years -- Epilogue : A jaw for a tooth.