Divided in two acts, the musical depicts a dramatized account of the life and career of Alexander Hamilton, an orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean island of Nevis. The first act covers Hamilton's arrival in New York City in 1776, his work in the Continental Army as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington during the American Revolution, and his courtship and marriage to Eliza Schuyler. The second act covers Hamilton's postwar work as the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, his affair with Maria Reynolds, the death of his son Philip and finally his own death in a duel with Aaron Burr.