This investigation into spree killing analyses the psychology of this chilling and relatively new phenomenon. Cawthorne carefully examines each case and shows how the killers suppress their rage and violent fantasies until a small incident sparks off their fatal rampage.

The cases include that of Michael Ryan, who slew sixteen in the quiet English town of Hungerford; Wade Frankum, who went berserk with a rifle in a shopping plaza in Sydney, Australia; teenage students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and their killing spree at Columbine High School in Colorado, USA; Seung-Hui Cho, responsible for the Virginia Tech massacre, the deadliest shooting frenzy by a single gunman in the history of the USA; and the incident with Isaac Zamora in Mount Vernon, Washington State.