The second half of the 16th century, the time of Ivan the Terrible's reign. The story of Yermak Timofeyevich, whose campaign beyond the Urals served to annex the Siberian lands to the Moscow kingdom.
Northern Italy, 1327. The Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young apprentice Adso of Melk reach an isolated Benedictine abbey on the Alps to aid in a dispute between the Franciscan Order and the Avignon papacy. Upon arrival at the abbey, the two find themselves involved in a chain of mysterious deaths.
Cleopatra, the famed Egyptian Queen born in 69 B.C., is shown to have been brought by Roman ruler Julius Caesar at age 18. Caesar becomes sexually obsessed by the 18 year old queen, beds her, and eventually has a son by her. However, his Roman followers and his wife are not pleased by the union. In fact, as Caesar has only a daughter by his wife, he had picked Octavian as his successor.
Gilani the Ascetic sets out to Baghdad seeking truth along with Eşref. Following an enduring seclusion, he finds out that the city of Baghdad is in chaos and he begins his historic struggle for equality and peace.
Fang Zhimin and the Northward Anti-Japanese Advance Unit as they fight against Japanese forces. After being captured by Kuomintang troops, Fang Zhimin leads the creation of a secret branch in prison as they work on the next phase of their resistance.
Witness the rise of the world's first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême, and his descent into espionage in Napoleon-era France—where manipulation is king. With his gifts for gastronomy and seduction, he becomes the perfect weapon in a fight for power.
In 1965, seven students meet and, despite being an assorted mix of people, become friends while they share a flat together in London. As time passes, their lives intertwine with each other as they feel the impact of political developments and the outbreak of war and disease.
Zhang Neng Liang is a fuerdai (second generation rich) who fails the university entrance exams and joins the People’s Liberation Army as a member of the tank crew. Squad leader Niu Nul Li comes from a rural village, and missed out on a place in the military academy twice due to Zhang Neng Liang. They start off on the wrong foot, though eventually become fast friends after being allocated to the same team. The pair are joined by sole female crew member Ye Xiao Meng, an earnest tomboy who becomes the army’s first female tank driver.
1938, Soviet Russia. There were two of them, both strong and courageous. But one fateful day, Igor Petrov, the commander of a Red Army unit, is compelled to exchange ID papers with a satecracker known as Ash. The incident leads both men to start their lives completely anew. For the following ten years, Petrov and Ash will live their lives in the fear of discovery. They will commit acts of bravery and insidious crimes in the name of the other so that the thiet becomes a hero, while the commander turns into a violent outlaw. The only thing they have in common is a tragic, painful love for the same woman. For ten years they will each encounter death and destruction before fate brings them together once more. There will be two of them again - strong and courageous, ready to fight for their love.. with the knowledge that retribution awaits them.