Always concerned with the majority, never the favored few, Cleveland believed his ultimate allegiance was to the nation, not to a political party, and he acted on his strongly-held beliefs throughout his entire political life. At first considered an enemy of labor because of his firm handling of the bloody Chicago Pullman strike, Cleveland's later accomplishments have tended to be overlooked by historians, including his heroic quest to improve the quality of life for American Indians, and his battles against the railroads and big business to prevent the destruction of American land. Cleveland was also responsible for insisting on tariff reduction and maintaining the Gold Standard, which saved the nation from bankruptcy.

Alyn Brodsky's engrossing work follows Grover Cleveland through his early life in upstate New York, his career as a trial lawyer, mayor, and governor through to his first and second presidencies, and his last years as a lecturer and beloved member of the administration at Princeton University.