Historian and legal scholar Gordon-Reed presents this epic work that tells the story of the Hemingses, an American slave family, and their close blood ties to Thomas Jefferson.

I: Origins -- Young Elizabeth's world -- John Wayles: the immigrant -- The children of no one -- Thomas Jefferson -- The first Monticello -- In the home of a revolutionary -- II: The vaunted scene of Europe -- "A particular purpose" -- James Hemings: the provincial abroad -- "Isabel or Sally will come" -- Dr. Sutton -- The rhythms of the city -- The eve of revolution -- "During that time" -- Sarah Hemings: the fatherless girl in a patriarchal society -- The teenagers and the woman -- "His promises on which she implicitly relied" -- "The treaty" and "did they love each other?" -- The return -- III: On the mountain -- Hello and goodbye -- Equilibrium -- The brothers -- Philadelphia -- Exodus -- The second Monticello -- Into the future, echoes from the past -- The ocean of life -- The public world and the private domain -- "Measurably happy": the children of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings -- Retirement for one, not for all -- Endings and beginnings.