Using the most recent scholarship on the thirteenth century, on the Dominican order, and on sainthood, this biography will embed Thomas in the lived context of his time and place. It will approach Thomas as an imperial aristocrat, as a poor mendicant, as a promising student, and as a religious.

While Thomas's brilliance will be clear, it will be contrasted by the massive upheaval brought both by his mendicancy and his adherence to Aristotle in the medieval University.

This biography will focus on Thomas the man and not chiefly on his intellectual achievements.