During Fitzwilliam Darcy's visit to Rosings Park, Lady Catherine de Bourgh suddenly betrays her knowledge of Georgiana Darcy's misadventure with George Wickham the previous summer, while giving Darcy a devastating demand: marry her daughter, or she will reveal the details to society.
Appalled by his aunt's depravity, Darcy quits Rosings Park at once, returning to London. There, Darcy conceives a desperate gamble; if he was already married, Lady Catherine would have no claim on him.
After a welcome visit to her dear friend in Kent, Elizabeth Bennet returns to her home, finding everything curiously altered. Not only has Charles Bingley returned, his attentions to Jane seemingly unabated from the previous year, but her family, who had nothing good to say of Darcy, is now singing his praises.
In time, Elizabeth grows suspicious, determined to discover why this profound change has come over the gentleman she previously detested. But Darcy, as he races against time to convince Elizabeth to marry him, worries about the threat of his aunt's jealousy and spite. For a woman willing to ruin her own niece in her all-consuming desire to have her way will surely have no scruples if he defies her.