The series concentrates on various important events of the late Qing dynasty and Republican era in the late 19th century and early 20th century in China, including the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), the Hundred Days' Reform (1898), the Boxer Rebellion (1900), and the Xinhai Revolution (1911). The series narrates historical events and portrays the private lives of key political figures such as Li Hongzhang, the Guangxu Emperor, Yuan Shikai and Sun Yat-sen. There are monarchists, reformers and revolutionaries who provide different answers to addressing the deteriorating situation of the Qing dynasty but all these answers point towards a common goal – to restore China as a sovereign, international and independent power.