The story of the extraordinary period of Empress Cixi's life and her complex relationships with Emperor Guang Xu and Imperial advisor American Costa, both of whom shared a desire to modernize China. Critically, as a result of tragic misunderstandings, bloodshed ended Guang Xu's 100 day reform, and China lost a chance of gaining a modern parliamentary monarch and hope of democracy at the time, which caused a period of violent revolutions. It was a turbulent era in modern Chinese history and the desperate fate of the characters, set within an ever-changing political landscape, creates a haunting and tense epic storyline.