She is an exquisite blonde with violet eyes and a foolish husband; from the moment Maria Cosway appears, Jefferson is wholly captivated. Suddenly the least impulsive man in Paris is acting like a schoolboy. To his young secretary and protege William Short, this reckless behavior sparks an obsession to discover the real Jefferson.

Impeccably researched and deeply provocative, "Jefferson" offers a rare glimpse behind the face this complex Virginian showed the world. Through Short's eyes, we peer into the long private and public life of the future president, watching the forces that shape the young Jefferson as he molds his dream of an American nation with fellow patriots Ben Franklin and John Adams. We see, too, his struggles to choose between political ambition and his heart.