The book includes Proinsias de Rossa's action against Eamon Dunphy and the Sunday Independent, which required three trials to reach a final verdict; Beverley Cooper-Flynn's unsuccessful action against RTE, which left her with millions to pay in costs; the failed action of 'Slab' Murphy against The Sunday Times; and Albert Reynolds's famous 1996 case that went all the way to the House of Lords and incurred costs of over a million pounds. Recounted also is P.J. McGrory's 1988 victory against Today, the Sunday Express and the Star newspapers. There are celebrities here: the jockey Kieren Fallon, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson. And in every case recounted, public reputations were on the line - not to mention dizzying sums of money. It's this combination that gives libel its theatrical quality and that makes A.J. Davidson's book such a riveting read.