House of Saddam

Baghdad, 1979. Deputy President Saddam and his allies intimidate President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr into resigning. Convening his first Ba'ath party congress, the new president exposes 'detractors,' who are forced to confess to an attempted coup and executed by party members in a test of loyalty. The personality of Saddam soon permeates Iraq.

1988. Though Iraq is on the brink of bankruptcy, Baghdad is jubilant in victory after the war with Iran. Uday celebrates in a nightclub by getting drunk and firing a gun into the crowd. As Kuwait's upsurge in oil output challenges Iraqi prosperity, a family lunch reveals fractures in Saddam's household, including paranoia that an insider might overthrow him. News spreads that Saddam has taken Samira as a second wife, with grim ramifications. As his family issues continue to grow, Kuwait drives Iraq toward war--and Saddam leads his army into 'the mother of all battles.'

May 1995. Iraq is crippled by UN sanctions for refusing to comply with weapons inspections. When inspectors are finally admitted, a cat-and-mouse game begins. In charge of the subterfuge is Qusay, Saddam's new successor--a move that infuriates Hussein Kamal. As a Day of Days celebration arrives to mark the anniversary of the victory over Iran, a worried Hussein and his brother cross the border to take diplomatic asylum in Jordan. There, Hussein meets with UN and CIA officials, offering up information on the whereabouts of Iraq's hidden weapons while making claims to Iraqi's leadership. Meanwhile, an infuriated Saddam plots a plan for their return--and his revenge.

March 2003. As Bush declares 'the day of liberation is near,' Saddam instructs most of his family to flee to Syria; only Uday, Qusay and grandson Mustapha remain. For his safety, Saddam goes into hiding near Tikrit, off the banks of the Tigris River where he lived as a child. As coalition forces flood Baghdad, Saddam remains holed up in a hut, making rallying-cry audiotapes his bodyguard delivers to radio stations. Uday, Qusay and Mustapha hide in a relative's house, but it isn't long before the location leaks to U.S. officials. Later, Saddam senses the net closing in on his hiding place inside a makeshift underground hole.