Henry is a member of the Irish Citizen Army in the years of the 1916 Irish rebellion against England. As a soldier, he comes in close contact with several important figureheads of the movement. We learn of the times he met Michael Collins, Patrick Pearse, and James Connolly. In 1918, Sinn Féin won the General Election and Henry watched as they announced the independent Irish Republic.
By announcing their independence from Britain, Ireland started a war with them to establish their independence. The war begins almost immediately, and before long, Henry is given orders. He heads to Soloheadbeg for the historical ambush there, but he serves as a lookout, nothing more.
But, as time goes on, the war becomes more set in. He becomes a gunman and he follows orders to fight the British through guerrilla warfare. They terrorize the British military and keep them paranoid, and they assassinate any government employees who come to bother them. By the time Henry looks up and gives his closing remarks for the novel, he admits that it seems the Irish have been so ruthless and violent that they completely forgot why they were fighting in the first place.
