What this story is about, and how it came to be.

This is kind of a complicated story, but I'll try to keep it short.

The origins of this story actually go back to last year and a little challenge offered by a Belgian fellow going by the handle of JaneStillman on AlternateHistory.com.

For those of you who may have heard of "Decades of Darkness", this is going to be kind of a geographical "reverse", if you will, of the same, in a way(with perhaps some elements of Turtledove mixed in as well). The first initial POD is in 1796, when the Democratic-Republican convention gets held a little earlier than it did IOTL, with both T. Jefferson and George Clinton vying for the candidacy, and with John Adams running as the Federalist candidate. Now, history shows us that Adams won in 1796 in our reality. Here, however, things don't go too well for Adams and, especially thanks to a few dirty tricks, Jefferson wins by a nearly 5-to-3 margin over Adams.

A decade after the POD, the butterflies have already begun to fly: the Haitian Revolution is more successful, Louisiana has reverted from Spanish control back that of France(now run by none other than Napoleon) after a short but bloody revolt, and the U.S. is looking to expand it's borders ever westward. And then there is the matter of the powers of Europe, each one with their own ambitions, grudges, and diplomatic strategies......how will this all play out? Stay tuned. =)