The Scarlet Pimpernel recap

During the French Revolution, a secret band of Englishmen rescues aristocrats from the guillotine under the direction of the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel. French agent Chauvelin travels to England to uncover the leader and coerces Marguerite Blakeney into helping him by threatening her brother Armand, who is implicated in the league's work. Marguerite supplies a clue, then realizes the man she has endangered is her apparently foolish, estranged husband, Sir Percy. Percy leaves for France to save Armand and other prisoners before Chauvelin can trap him. Marguerite follows with league member Sir Andrew Ffoulkes. Near Calais, Percy adopts a disguise and manipulates Chauvelin into searching in the wrong place, enabling Armand, the Comte de Tournay, and the others to escape. Marguerite's willingness to risk herself restores Percy's faith in her, and they reconcile. Chauvelin is defeated, Percy's secret survives, and the league remains free to continue its rescues.

In 1792, revolutionary France sends suspected enemies of the Republic to the guillotine while officials struggle to stop an unidentified English rescuer known as the Scarlet Pimpernel. He and a small league repeatedly smuggle aristocrats out of the country through bold disguises and carefully timed deceptions. At the gates of Paris, guards discover too late that another group has escaped under their eyes. In Dover, the Fisherman's Rest receives members of the Pimpernel's league and the de Tournay family, newly delivered from danger. Sir Andrew Ffoulkes and Lord Antony Dewhurst protect the fugitives without revealing their leader. Suzanne de Tournay and Sir Andrew are immediately drawn to each other. The Comtesse, though grateful for her rescue, carries a bitter grievance against Marguerite Blakeney, a French actress who has become the wife of an immensely wealthy English baronet.

Marguerite arrives at Dover with her husband, Sir Percy Blakeney. She is admired as one of Europe's most brilliant women, while Percy cultivates the appearance of a richly dressed fool. Their marriage is emotionally cold despite its glamorous public surface. The Comtesse refuses to greet Marguerite because information Marguerite once let slip contributed to the destruction of the St Cyr family in France; Marguerite insists the result was not what she intended. Her beloved brother Armand prepares to return to France, where his republican sympathies cannot protect him from the Terror. Chauvelin, an agent of the revolutionary government, approaches Marguerite. He is hunting the Scarlet Pimpernel and recognizes that her social position gives her access to English circles the French authorities cannot penetrate directly.

In London, Chauvelin tightens his pressure on Marguerite. Evidence connects Armand to the English league, giving the agent the means to threaten her brother with arrest and death. He demands that Marguerite help identify the Pimpernel in exchange for Armand's safety. At a fashionable gathering attended by the Prince of Wales, she watches Chauvelin search for messages among the English gentlemen. Torn between loyalty to her brother and revulsion at betraying the unknown rescuer, she passes on information about a planned meeting. Chauvelin believes the clue will let him discover the leader and follow him to France. Marguerite immediately regrets her part in the trap and seeks a way to warn the man she has endangered without sacrificing Armand.

Marguerite turns to Percy, hoping that beneath his indifference he will help save both Armand and the Pimpernel. Their conversation exposes the hurt separating them: Percy still loves her but has believed the worst account of her role in the St Cyr denunciation, while she has mistaken his protective distance for emptiness. After he leaves, details in Percy's private room and papers force Marguerite to reinterpret his cultivated foolishness. She realizes that her husband is the Scarlet Pimpernel and that the clue she gave Chauvelin has placed Percy himself in mortal danger. Percy has already set out for France, intending to rescue Armand and the other prisoners despite knowing that the authorities are preparing a trap. Marguerite confides in Sir Andrew Ffoulkes and resolves to follow, no longer willing to remain safe while Percy risks his life.

Marguerite and Sir Andrew cross the Channel to Calais in pursuit of Percy and Chauvelin. Bad weather, uncertain boats, and the need for secrecy slow them while Percy stays ahead. In France, Chauvelin plans to use Armand, the Comte de Tournay, and other captives as bait, confident that the Pimpernel will expose himself rather than abandon them. Marguerite reaches the area around Calais and learns enough of the plan to understand that soldiers are waiting near the place where the fugitives are confined. Percy remains unseen in his familiar identity, and the travelers must assume that any delay or mistaken warning could close the trap. Marguerite's journey reverses her earlier betrayal: she now accepts the same personal danger that Percy has repeatedly faced for strangers.

Near Calais, Percy conceals himself in the disguise of an aged local man and moves close to Chauvelin's forces without being recognized. He feeds the agent misleading information and exploits the soldiers' certainty that their quarry will approach in an obvious way. At the decisive moment, Chauvelin's men are directed away from the real escape route. Armand, the Comte de Tournay, and the other prisoners leave their confinement and reach safety, while Percy evades the ambush. Marguerite discovers that he is alive, and the couple finally speak without the disguises that have governed their marriage. Percy accepts that she did not knowingly cause the St Cyr deaths and recognizes the courage of her attempt to save him; Marguerite understands the devotion hidden behind his foolish public mask. They reconcile, Chauvelin is defeated, and Percy's identity remains secret. The rescued party can return to England, where the Comte approves Suzanne's marriage to Sir Andrew and the league remains ready for further missions.

Percy reaches France ahead of his pursuers and uses disguise, false trails, and Chauvelin's confidence against him. Marguerite and Sir Andrew follow to Calais, where she learns that Armand and the other fugitives are being held as bait. Percy, disguised as a decrepit local man, remains close to Chauvelin without being recognized and misdirects the soldiers at the crucial moment. Armand, the Comte de Tournay, and their companions escape the hut and reach safety rather than falling into the planned ambush. Chauvelin is left defeated once again. Marguerite discovers that Percy never ceased loving her; his cold manner followed his belief that her denunciation of the St Cyr family revealed a cruelty she did not in fact intend. Her decision to risk her life for him restores his trust, and they reconcile openly. The rescued party prepares to return to England, and the Comte accepts the match between Suzanne and Sir Andrew. Percy's identity remains protected from the wider world, allowing the Scarlet Pimpernel and his league to continue their work.