Easter, 1916: At noon, Dublin explodes in gunfire as a motley band of Irish rebels takes on the world's most powerful empire. They begin by hijacking a post office. Despite a fierce spirit of independence, the disorganized rebellion failed to capture the heart of the people, who branded it as a reckless, humiliating act of deplorable violence. But in the aftermath of the Rising, the British response to the captured rebels would cement their roles as martyrs and institutionalize the use of violence for political change in Ireland for the remainder of the century.