Following the occult unpleasantries of the incident related in Suspense and Sensibility, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy are looking forward to enjoying life at the family estate, Pemberley, as they await the birth of their first child. However, all is not restful. Secrets of the past and intrigues of the present threaten their peacefulness, solitude, and possibly even their security. First a mysterious letter arrives. Then Darcy is called to attend to certain challenges to the family fortune and worse yet, his aunt arrives to bedevil the household with her own brand of imperial helpfulness. All matters converge when a family heirloom is found to hold the key to a family secret, a secret that years of conspiracy have tried to keep hidden.