A film that probes the life of the revered author of the most sacred document in American history: The Declaration of Independence. Passionate about the rights of the individual, yet condemned as a lifelong owner of slaves, Thomas Jefferson remains an enigma. Transformed by the philosophic fire of the American Revolution, Jefferson became the new country’s most articulate voice for human liberty. But Jefferson remained torn between the serenity of family life on his self-designed mountain top plantation at Monticello and his passion to fight for liberty. Despite heartrending personal loss he ushers in a new era of democratic government, serves as U.S. minister to France, and strives to preserve the fragile democracy of the new United States.