This documentary drama series tells the story of the Thirty Years War from the perspective of the people who experienced it: like the soldier Peter Hagendorf, the "Winter Queen" Elisabeth Stuart, the famous artist Peter Paul Rubens and the "Grey Eminence" Father Joseph. Their gripping accounts, letters and diary entries are condensed into a fascinating and emotive portrait of the time. In the 17th century, a generation of painters and illustrators developed the first type of visual mass medium - genre art, the pictorial representation of scenes and events from everyday life. The artists visualized the world they lived in with all its facets: markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inns, street scenes, and many more. This visual memory of the 17th century forms the 'archive footage' in the series. Combined with vivid drama and contributions from international experts, the series builds a bridge between "now" and "then" enabling viewers to experience what it was like to live through the Thirty Years' War.