November 11, 1918. As the First World War ends, survivors realize that the world of yesterday is gone forever, buried in the ruins. The victors concoct a precarious peace treaty which they impose on the vanquished. In Europe, Africa, and Asia new nations are forged, often through strife and conflict. In no time hatred, fear, and resentment bubble up from the depths of traumatized societies, sowing chaos in the new world order: revolutions, crises, waves of migration, and civil wars are fertile ground for totalitarianism. People try to shake off memories of war to the frantic beat of the Charleston, blind to the approach of a new Apocalypse.