Romance and scandal abound in this warm and witty tale of the young widow Octavia Darcy, whose attempts to secure her fortune and clear her name lead her through all manner of difficulties.

‘I am a woman of independent means, definitely in possession of a good fortune, but I am not in the least in want of a husband!’

So declares Octavia Darcy. She hasn’t always been in this happy position. Raised as a poor relation, despised by her half-sisters, sent to India to be married off, only to have her brief happiness as the second wife of Captain Darcy dashed by his early death – life has been hard. But an unexpected legacy leaves her extremely well off and for the first time ever she can decide her own fate.

Her family think otherwise. Suddenly everyone wants to know her, advise her, woo her. Who can she rely on? Luckily a new-found acquaintance takes her to Meryton, where Netherfield Hall has an argumentative but undoubtedly intriguing new tenant…