From her birth into Aaron Burr's illustrious New England family -- her childhood amidst the leaders and the high society of the new nation; her marriage to Joseph Alston, a South Carolina slave-owning aristocrat; her voyage down the Ohio River to become the Empress of Mexico -- to her tragic and mysterious death at sea, this is the true story of Theodosia Burr Alston. Directly from the letters she exchanged with her father, husband, and friends emerges the portrait of an amazing woman and a true American prodigy -- and for twenty-one days, the First Lady of South Carolina. The meticulously researched book also explores whether Burr's intensely close relationship with his daughter may have triggered the legendary Aaron Burr - Alexander Hamilton duel.