When tragedy leaves Fitzwilliam Darcy clinging to life, Elizabeth Bennet sacrifices her dreams to repay the debt owed to her family's damaged savior. But can her compassion penetrate his bitter heart and spark hope again?

For twenty years Elizabeth Bennet had lived, quite contentedly, as the second daughter of a country squire. During her Easter visit to her newly married friend, Lizzy has the dubious pleasure of being introduced to Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her cosseted daughter. To Elizabeth’s surprise, the pair take a keen interest in a mere adopted daughter of the Bennet family, and when Mr. Darcy dutifully pays his annual visit to Rosings Park, her life takes a wholly unexpected turn.

Elizabeth Bennet inherits a stunning fortune. Mr. Darcy left Hertfordshire to escape his attraction to her—will her sudden wealth pull them together or drive them further apart? February of 1812 brings startling news to Longbourn; a distant relation has left Elizabeth an astonishing fortune. She is overwhelmed by a multitude of suitors in pursuit of her wealth but is determined to never marry a man who only loves her money.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is enraged when, already reeling from Elizabeth Bennet’s disdain, he discovers his sister locked in a passionate embrace with George Wickham—and suffers an apoplexy at the sight. With proper speech locked uselessly inside his mind, his Fitzwilliam relations are quick to take advantage of the situation, calling his illness insanity, and scheming to keep both Darcys under their control.

A tempestuous acquaintance and disastrous marriage proposal makes it unlikely Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet will ever reconcile. Despairing of their own reunion, they attend with great energy to salvaging that of Darcy’s friend Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s sister Jane. People are rarely so easily maneuvered in and out of love, however, they follow a series of misunderstandings, both willful and unwitting, that complicates all four star-crossed lovers’ alliances more than ever before.