Born into a working-class family in the UK’s West Midlands, Callum Payne was an idealistic kid who enjoyed playing - and fighting - with his friends. After completing school, he joined the British Army and found purpose in military life, but a tour in the Falklands would change him. This hopeful young man turned warrior was transformed - broken - by an ambush that left him the sole survivor of his unit, his spotter killed right in front of him. Command’s indifference to this obvious failure of intelligence only made matters worse.
Driven by survivor’s guilt, Payne went on to become one of the Royale Marines’ most decorated snipers, but the distrust of his superiors was never restored.