ICE #2: The Protagonist

While ICE: Interrogation Control Element deals with the very topical and politically divisive issues surrounding the war on terror, it'll largely be a character driven piece.

The main protagonist of ICE is Thomas "Trip" Higgins, seen here. (Character sketches by series artist, Damian Couceiro.)

"Trip" was a family man and a U.S. Army Military Intelligence reservist who re-upped after the terrorist attacks of 9-11. Higgins was one of the US military's top interrogators in Afghanistan and Iraq, until he became disgusted with the "monstering" of interrogation tactics employed by his peers. This, combined with his wife's failing health, caused Higgins to leave the army.

Higgins is now raising two daughters (ages 17 and 8) on his own, losing his wife to cancer three years ago. He went through a period of depression and mourning following his wife's passing, and then threw himself almost obsessively into writing his book, a harrowing account of all he saw in the interrogation booths and a manifesto for reform of U.S. interrogation policies. For the past year and a half, Higgins has become a wonderful father and has restored a sense of normalcy in his and his girls' lives.

But as Trip is pulled back into the demanding world of military intelligence as Senior Echo of the new ICE, it will once again strain his relationship with his daughters.