Filmmaker Raoul Peck investigates the currents of civilization, colonization and extermination running through Western history.​

Peck questions his own story against the histories of Christopher Columbus, the Alamo, the Trail of Tears and slavery in the Americas.

Peck connects the dots between European innovations in weaponry and an endless cycle of military operations throughout the centuries.​

In the series finale, Peck links the resurgence of white nationalism with the global history of fascism, slavery, colonialism and Nazism.​