Series 1

While Tony Blair faces a TV grilling by a group of anti-war women, one of the government's senior lawyers faces a personal crisis and plans her resignation.

There are just 9 days left until the invasion begins and in the hills of Northern Iraq a coalition of religious and political leaders meet to discuss how they will run the country in the aftermath of war.

For weeks General Tim Cross has been the British deputy at the US led Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Aid (ORHA) in Washington. Today he's flown back to London with some very bad news. But will anyone listen?

A diplomatic battle raging at the UN where the British and Americans are intensely lobbying for a second resolution that will authorise war. They are met by fierce hostility and resistance by countries who want to give the weapons inspectors more time in Iraq.

War is less than a week away but a battle is being fought for the streets. A community fights back against radical Islamists recruiting young men for jihad.

It's the final countdown - 3 days to war. UN diplomacy has died, but on the ground in Iraq the weapons inspectors continue their fruitless search. A day of chaos and fear ends with a shocking bit of news which brings home the reality of war for everyone.

It's the day of the Commons vote on war. Harriet Walter and Adrian Rawlins play MPs facing mutual crises of conscience in the face of intense lobbying and pressure from a Whip in the shape of Alex Jennings. A day of extreme emotions culminates in a vote that will not only decide whether we go to war, it will also seal the fate of the Prime Minister.

It's 24 hours until war begins. Colonel Tim Collins, the charismatic commander of the Royal Irish Regiment stationed on the Kuwait/Iraq border. The politicians and diplomats have failed, now it's down to the soldiers. Collins rallies his troops with a speech that comes to be celebrated round the world for its ferocity and humanity. But how will it affect his soldiers? And how will Collins deal with the unrest and fear within his own regiment?