In 1843, Thomas Jefferson is born to one of the most powerful families in the most powerful of Britain's 13 North American colonies; after a privileged upbringing, young Jefferson quietly prepares to lead the charge towards a burgeoning revolution.

As colonists become more disgruntled with British tyranny, Thomas Jefferson's words become a push towards liberty; when colonists finally reach their breaking point, he is tasked with declaring independence.

Just as Jefferson is sworn in as the governor of the new state of Virginia, war arrives at his doorstep; as an intellectual with no military background, he struggles to protect himself and his constituents in the face of British attacks.

After the loss of his wife, Jefferson is sent to Paris, where he thrives personally and politically; while there, he begins an entanglement with an enslaved teenager that shapes the next 40 years of his life.

Jefferson wins the presidency against his former friend, John Adams; he spends the next eight years defining the tenets of the executive office and more than doubling the size of the country.

Jefferson's retirement is fraught with controversy. While consumed in debts he cannot repay, he fights to perpetuate his legacy as America's Founding Father and the Apostle of Liberty.