Patrick Ireland is introduced as a truly all-American high school jock—but he struggles too, on occasion, with failure and indecision. Cullen peppers the narrative with accounts of the actions of many of the students who will prominently feature in the Columbine massacre in order to give a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the incident, and humanize and bring to life the students who will be affected by Eric and Dylan’s violent actions.