[1] The films are set in different locations of Europe, and are not a narrative trilogy but rather are linked by common themes and stylistic explorations.
Von Trier's later USA - Land of Opportunities trilogy also deals with both apparent social collapse, and the ill-effects of the interventions of idealistic individuals.
Themes and creative aspects that the films share include hypnosis, a dystopian version of Europe, and experimental uses of colour.
Michael Elphick portrays Fisher, a detective who has become an expatriate living in Cairo, undergoes hypnosis in order to recall his last case.
Von Trier and Niels Vørsel portray themselves as two of the three protagonists who write a new script about an epidemic: the outbreak of a plague-like disease.