It is 1784, Thomas Jefferson has just arrived in Paris to represent his fledgling nation in the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Paris is a city adrift in intrigue and social upheaval, swirling scandal and sensual temptation, a city where Jefferson--a man of reason and revolution--will experience a different kind of turbulence.

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

Impeccably researched, compelling and deeply provocative, Max Byrd's Jefferson offers a rare glimpse behind the secretive face this complex Virginian showed the world. Through William 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, as he struggles to choose between political ambitions and the life of the heart.