Ayutthaya was a husk of its former self. A burnt out shell, ruled by a puppet king installed by their conquerors in Burma. But that puppet would not sit dormant. He rebuilt the city, drove off attackers from Cambodia, and prepared the way for an Ayutthayan resurgence.
But this is not, really, his story. The liberation of Ayutthaya would not have happened without the capable leadership of Prince - then King - Naresuan, the "Black Prince" of Ayutthayan history. Though cruel, abrasive, and obsessed with war, Naresuan would free his country from the Burmese once and for all.