When threats to his family and reputation implicate Elizabeth Bennet, the secretive Mr Darcy is unsure whether to suspect or protect a lady he scarcely knows. But when a London gossip column

claims they are engaged, the near strangers draw closer as they are pulled into a web of deceit.​

Fitzwilliam Darcy, hiding from unknown hired killers in one of London's worst neighbourhoods, finds aid from the only person he can trust–the woman who rejected him. Elizabeth Bennet helps him hide and seeks to uncover the plot that threatens his life, and begins to return his affections.

Although she writes love stories, Miss Jane Austen harbours

no false hopes about her own romantic prospects. Then she is surprised by the arrival of her brother's handsome friend, a widowed gentleman. Will he be her own Mr Darcy–or will he prove to be more like Mr Wickham?

Two months after Elizabeth rejects his

proposal, Darcy encounters her at an estate where they join others in a

tournament of games and wits to win the manor and its legacy. When the dust settles and they confess their love, they must confront an intransigent Mr Bennet.