The program is based upon four eyewitness accounts of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, an active stratovolcano between the islands of Sumatra and Java, present day Indonesia.

The series was produced by the BBC in co-production with Discovery Channel, RTL Television, and France 2.

A subplot concerning Rogier Verbeek (played by Kevin McMonagle), a Dutch geologist who had surveyed the area two years earlier and laid the basis for modern vulcanology with his research after the eruption, adds a scientific touch and a helpful map to the computer-generated imagery that convincingly portrays the ash cloud, collapse of the stratovolcano, pyroclastic flows, and tsunamis.

The eruption column collapsing sends a big pyroclastic flow over the Sunda Strait coast of Sumatra.The film also portrays a family trying to escape the devastating volcano, and a ship with more than 100 passengers trapped at sea when the final collapse of Krakatoa island at the end of the eruption generates a massive tsunami.

Just after Captain Lindeman leaves the cargo bay and heads to the ship's deck, one of the girls begins to sing a song to calm down the nervous passengers.