In this book, the author argues that politicians use our discomfort in 'ranking' moral atrocities to manipulate our sense of injustice and serve their interests. He argues that while genocides such as the Holocaust and Rwanda are universally recognized as the worst crimes imaginable, the War on Terror has distorted our sense of atrocity by minimizing torture and exaggerating terrorism. Simon advocates for an international criminal code with clearly defined and ranked injustices that would rehabilitate humanitarian intervention and replace an impotent duty to protect with a committed duty to act.