Mark Isaacs goes behind the veil of secrecy around Australia’s offshore immigration detention centres to reveal a climate of fear and hopelessness, culminating in the riot and fire which destroyed much of the Nauru regional processing centre in July 2013. The book reveals how the tinderbox ignited and examines the investigation into who was responsible. It is the story of the fight of the men in detention to prove their innocence, and of the workers who tried to help them.

Ultimately, it is a comment on the lack of accountability and oversight for service providers in the deliberately remote and closed environment of Australia's offshore detention centres.