2026

In the summer of 1776, the largest expeditionary army in British history arrives off New York to crush the American rebellion once and for all. Facing the full might of the British Empire, the Continental Army fights desperately to hold New York. But after a series of defeats, General Washington struggles to hold together his forces. Then, in the Revolution's darkest hour, he decides to risk everything to turn back the tide.

In 1937, conflicts across the globe wreak new levels of destruction and suffering. A civilian massacre in Ethiopia, the bombing of Guernica in Spain, and the ‘Rape of Nanking’ in China, provide glimpses of what could be endured in another world war. Reports and images from these conflicts are received with horror and increasing alarm, but Britain, France and the USA cling to their policy of ‘non-intervention’. As the alliances that will define the next great war take shape, the drift towards it seems inescapable.