The watchwords of the French Revolution were liberty, equality and fraternity. Maximilien Robespierre believed in them passionately. He was an idealist and a lover of humanity. But during the 365 days that Robespierre sat on the Committee of Public Safety, the French Republic descended into a bloodbath. `The Terror` only came to end when Robespierre was devoured by the repressive machinery he`d created. This drama-documentary tells the story of the Terror and looks at how Robespierre`s revolutionary idealism so quickly became an excuse for tyranny, and why a lover of liberty was so keen to use the guillotine. Simon Schama and Slavoj Zizek are among the contributors.