The volume is entirely focused on the peaceful years, yet behind the outward calm lie intense personal struggles. Andrei Bolkonsky, shattered by the death of his wife, undergoes a painful spiritual turning point and returns to life thanks to his feelings for the young Natasha Rostova. Pierre Bezukhov, having become disillusioned with his marriage to Hélène, joins the Freemasons and tries to find support in the idea of moral self-improvement. The book’s conclusion is tinged with a worrying foreshadowing of coming trouble: in the sky, the comet of 1811 appears, and in Natasha’s fate, a personal tragedy unfolds—she breaks off her engagement with Prince Andrei.