It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a family member near death's door cannot but have an effect on, and change, the members of that family. Scarlet fever ravages the town of Meryton and changes the fates of the Bennet family. Elizabeth catches it and is sent away to a sanitarium to recover. She returns a cautious, more thoughtful creature who suffers from hearing loss, bringing a friend Catherine Parks, who has is partially blind. Mr. Bennet jokes that between them, they make a whole woman. Because of Elizabeth’s hearing loss, she does not overhear Darcy’s initial insults, and a thunderstorm catches her and Darcy unawares, trapping her at Netherfield and changing the way that the pair sees each other, yet Mr. Bingley and his party still leave the area. A militia and a company of regulars move into the area. With such an assortment of men in scarlet coats, Mrs. Bennet believes her daughters might marry officers. But will Mr. Bingley return? And will those handsome and charming officers ever pay attention to the Bennet daughters with threats of the current peace faltering? Can Elizabeth and Darcy find each other again amidst this turmoil?