Drawing on a sophisticated theoretical framework, Shepherd finds in the realm of the everyday the possibility to think critically about the world we live in. She opens up a realm of investigation – television shows – that have so far largely eluded international relations scholars. But Shepherd convincingly shows how links between gender and violence are part of global power relations that come into being through the stores we tell; stories that become real because they are rehearsed, time and again, as part of dominant and largely masculine ways of understanding sexuality, identity and community.Roland Bleiker, Professor of International Relations, University of Queensland