A magnetic pull allegedly interfered with early sailors' compasses, drawing them toward a place that is still called Magnetic Island, in Queensland, Australia. Today, William Darcy - a professor and tourist from England - finds himself and his yacht stranded on that same Australian island, among "uncivilised backwater denizens" who love the frog race and the backpackers.
There Darcy falls for a certain mixed-race volunteer at a marine wildlife sanctuary, but Elizabeth Bennet prefers the company of manatees, known as dugongs in Australia, over a stuffy genetics professor. She only gives Darcy the time of day when a dugong is found murdered on Magnetic Island. She suspects the killer is Darcy. Is she right?
Be warned – this Pride and Prejudice re-imagined modern eco-mystery contains characters confronting racial stereotypes, several unpleasant murders, and twists in otherwise familiar Jane Austen characters. Truly, a friendship between Mrs Bennet and.... Lady Catherine??