Pierre marries Helene but soon realizes that she is an unloving and mercenary wife, cuckolding him with Dolokhov, whom he challenges to a duel. The scheming Vassily also engineers a union between his son Anatole and Andrei's unworldly sister Marya. The Russian army holds off the French for a while with Nikolai being able to return to his family but another encounter leaves Andrei badly wounded. He is able to get home in time to see Lise give birth to their child but it is not a happy event.