Europe in 1900 -- Great Britain and splendid isolation -- The new Kaiser -- Weltpolitik -- Dreadnought -- Unlikely friends: the entente cordiale -- The bear and the whale: Russia and Great Britain -- The loyalty of the Nibelungs -- What were they thinking? -- Dreaming of peace -- Thinking about war -- Making the plans -- The crises start -- The Bosnian crisis -- 1911: the year of discords -- The first Balkan Wars -- Preparing for war or peace -- Assassination at Sarajevo -- The end game.