A second son, Mr. Henry Bennet is an officer in His Majesty's army, knowing he must fight to earn his bread. But a letter from his father changes everything, as he is summoned home due to a family crisis. His brother, Philip Bennet, has been a gamester for years and has finally done the unthinkable-he has mortgaged Longbourn's future for his own selfish pleasures. The sinister figure of Baron Godwin, the immoral man to whom Philip has become indebted, casts a long shadow over Longbourn, as he demands to be paid what he is owed. As Henry and his father struggle to cope with the disaster which has fallen upon them, they make desperate plans to save what they can of their family and their very way of life. But in the process, Henry finds he has made an implacable enemy, a man who will stop at nothing to see him and