Hamilton argues with Washington and the two of them break. Tilghman comes to apologize for Washington, but Hamilton does not agree to speak with him. Hamilton quits his position, though everyone thinks his pride is leading him astray. Martha Washington tells Eliza that she must advise her husband to heal the divide between him and Washington. She and Lafayette try to come up with a way to make Hamilton see reason.

Eliza is unable to persuade Hamilton to stay in Washington’s service, but they continue to travel with his troops. Hamilton studies and plans a financial future for America if they win the war. Eliza helps copy his notes. Seeing the scholar and statesman in him, not just the soldier, Eliza abandons her attempt to convince Hamilton to return to Washington’s service. Tilghman brings Hamilton the news that Washington has given in and offered him command of an infantry battalion. Shortly after, Eliza discovers she is pregnant. She will stay in New York while he goes into battle in Virginia.

While the Americans are doing well in Virginia, enemies come to the Schuylers’ house to kill her father. Peggy persuades the intruders that he is not home, and they leave. In October of 1781, Eliza is visited by Colonel Aaron Burr, who fought alongside Hamilton and tells her of the victory at Yorktown. Burr reminds Eliza of Hamilton, and she likes him instantly. Hamilton returns from war and stays in bed for two months after from exhaustion. In the new year, Eliza gives birth to a son, whom they name Phillip after her father.

Eliza thinks of this time as the happiest of her life, and she tries to find a husband for Peggy so she can be as happy as her sisters. Peggy announces that she is engaged to a local man named Stephen Van Rensselaer. Burr begins to spend time with the Schuylers, and Eliza befriends his wife, Theodosia. Hamilton is told by letter of the death of his good friend, John Laurens, whom he frequently talked about with Eliza, as the two men were even closer than the married couple. As he will not speak to her about the matter, Eliza encourages Hamilton to write to Lafayette about Laurens. He never speaks to Eliza about him again.

In 1783, Hamilton is elected to the Congress of the Confederation in Philadelphia. Hamilton and Congressman James Madison both believe the Articles of Confederation, which currently govern the United States, must be improved. Through Madison, Eliza meets Thomas Jefferson, but she is wary of him. Hamilton sends Eliza and Phillip back to New York as he fears he will be attacked in Philadelphia. Once in New York, Eliza learns that Peggy eloped with Stephen. Meanwhile, members of Congress including Hamilton and Madison are held at bayonet point by former soldiers who have still not been paid.

Peggy and Angelica are both pregnant. Eliza is sad as she is moving to New York City, where she will be far from her sisters. The British finally leave, officially ending the war. When Washington resigns his position in the army, Hamilton refuses to see him off, over which he and Eliza fight. Eliza takes Phillip to see Washington leave. She later realizes that Hamilton could not bear to say goodbye to Washington because his only family was his brothers-in-arms. Eliza determines she will do everything she can to reunite Hamilton with his war friends.

Eliza spends time with Theodosia Burr, whose loyalties are questioned as she was previously married to a British officer. Lafayette returns to America and dines at the Hamiltons’ home. They toast to Washington, and Hamilton seems to have set aside their quarrel. They talk of James Armistead, one of the most effective spies of the Revolution who was an enslaved person and not freed after his service. Once the women are alone, Theodosia gossips with Eliza that their guest Baron Von Steuben is in a relationship with his male aide.

Though the war is over, there is no peace, and the Sons of Liberty persecute anyone they believe to be a loyalist. Eliza assists those accused of being loyalists and befriends a young woman named Elizabeth Kortright. Hamilton similarly supports those who are accused unjustly, writing against the mobs that seek to harm those who are not adamantly for the American cause. While those around him encourage him to cool his temper, Hamilton doesn’t listen.

Eliza gives birth to another baby, a girl they name Angelica and call Ana. Hamilton resigns from Congress and becomes a lawyer to represent Tories, and he helps to found the national bank. James Monroe comes to visit Eliza in New York, where he has been elected to serve in Congress, and he reunites with Hamilton and Burr.

Eliza’s sister Angelica mentions that her husband plans to move them to London. He also reveals that his name isn’t Jack Carter but John Barker Church, and he is a member of a prominent British family. One night Eliza stays home with their sick child while Hamilton and Angelica go out. They return late, and the next day something appears to have happened between them. Eliza introduces Monroe to Elizabeth Kortright, thinking he needs a wife.

Though Hamilton works ceaselessly, they struggle financially as he often takes pro bono cases. The Hamiltons take in a baby named Fanny, the daughter of an old military friend who cannot care for her. Rumors circulate about an impending civil war, and Hamilton is falsely accused by a man named James Reynolds of wanting to restore the monarchy.

After the Constitutional Convention in 1787 proposes a frame of government to replace the Articles of Confederation, Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay write a series of anonymous essays, later called The Federalist Papers, in support of ratification. The authorship of these papers is an open secret, and Governor Clinton attacks Hamilton with unfounded rumors.

The Constitution is ratified and Hamilton is celebrated. Angelica visits the following year and tells Eliza that her husband doesn’t love her anymore. She reveals that her visit to America is to make him miss her as she feels lonely and unloved. Eliza secretly encourages Hamilton to compliment Angelica to make her feel better. The Schuylers and Hamiltons go to see the inauguration of Washington as the first president. Only Hamilton is able to get Angelica out of her bad moods.

As Angelica and Eliza prepare for the inaugural ball, they discuss the likelihood of Hamilton getting a position in Washington’s cabinet. At the ball, Eliza sees that Hamilton has many admirers. Washington asks her to dance. Eliza sees her old friend Kitty Livingston, who snubs her and then insults her, as there is drama between the families that Eliza did not know of. In bed that night, Hamilton tells Eliza that Washington wants him to be Secretary of the Treasury, and she feels unnerved that she is one of the last to know.

Fanny’s father dies, and Eliza agrees to adopt her. Under Angelica’s tutelage, Eliza becomes a socialite as she is summoned to dinners and balls because of Hamilton’s new position. Angelica receives notice that her children are ill and she must return to England. Madison unexpectedly withdraws his support of Hamilton’s financial plans and sides with Jefferson. The Hamiltons invite the two Virginians to dinner, but the disagreements have cooled the friendship between Madison and the Hamiltons.