diff --git a/lib/mongo.rb b/lib/mongo.rb
index d305178..e0e44fa 100644
--- a/lib/mongo.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo.rb
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ require 'mongo/util/conversions'
 require 'mongo/util/support'
 require 'mongo/util/core_ext'
 require 'mongo/util/pool'
+require 'mongo/util/pool_manager'
 require 'mongo/util/server_version'
 require 'mongo/util/uri_parser'
 
diff --git a/lib/mongo/connection.rb b/lib/mongo/connection.rb
index 33bbd7d..f2d6bcd 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/connection.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/connection.rb
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ module Mongo
     STANDARD_HEADER_SIZE = 16
     RESPONSE_HEADER_SIZE = 20
 
-    attr_reader :logger, :size, :auths, :primary, :safe, :primary_pool,
-      :host_to_try, :pool_size, :connect_timeout
+    attr_reader :logger, :size, :auths, :primary, :safe, :host_to_try,
+      :pool_size, :connect_timeout, :primary_pool
 
     # Counter for generating unique request ids.
     @@current_request_id = 0
diff --git a/lib/mongo/node.rb b/lib/mongo/node.rb
index 81432f0..f25d24c 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/node.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/node.rb
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ module Mongo
     end
     alias :== :eql?
 
+    def host_string
+      "#{@host}:#{@port}"
+    end
+
     # Create a connection to the provided node,
     # and, if successful, return the socket. Otherwise,
     # return nil.
@@ -55,6 +59,15 @@ module Mongo
       self.socket != nil
     end
 
+    def active?
+      begin
+        result = self.connection['admin'].command({:ping => 1}, :socket => self.socket)
+        return result['ok'] == 1
+      rescue OperationFailure, SocketError, SystemCallError, IOError => ex
+        return nil
+      end
+    end
+
     # Get the configuration for the provided node as returned by the
     # ismaster command. Additionally, check that the replica set name
     # matches with the name provided.
@@ -78,7 +91,9 @@ module Mongo
     # Note: this excludes arbiters.
     def node_list
       connect unless connected?
-      return [] unless self.config
+      set_config
+
+      return [] unless config
 
       nodes = []
       nodes += config['hosts'] if config['hosts']
@@ -88,6 +103,7 @@ module Mongo
 
     def arbiters
       connect unless connected?
+      return [] unless config['arbiters']
 
       config['arbiters'].map do |arbiter|
         split_nodes(arbiter)
diff --git a/lib/mongo/repl_set_connection.rb b/lib/mongo/repl_set_connection.rb
index ce07bc7..96ea90f 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/repl_set_connection.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/repl_set_connection.rb
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ module Mongo
 
   # Instantiates and manages connections to a MongoDB replica set.
   class ReplSetConnection < Connection
-    attr_reader :nodes, :secondaries, :arbiters, :read_pool, :secondary_pools,
-      :replica_set_name, :ping_ranges
+    attr_reader :nodes, :secondaries, :arbiters, :secondary_pools,
+      :replica_set_name, :read_pool
 
     # Create a connection to a MongoDB replica set.
     #
@@ -51,6 +51,12 @@ module Mongo
     #   Disabled by default.
     # @option opts [Float] :connect_timeout (nil) The number of seconds to wait before timing out a
     #   connection attempt.
+    # @option opts [Boolean] :auto_refresh (false) Set this to true to enable a background thread that
+    #   periodically updates the state of the connection. If, for example, you initially connect while a secondary
+    #   is down, :auto_refresh will reconnect to that secondary behind the scenes to
+    #   prevent you from having to reconnect manually.
+    # @option opts [Integer] :refresh_interval (90) If :auto_refresh is enabled, this is the number of seconds
+    #   that the background thread will sleep between calls to check the replica set's state.
     #
     # @example Connect to a replica set and provide two seed nodes. Note that the number of seed nodes does
     #   not have to be equal to the number of replica set members. The purpose of seed nodes is to permit
@@ -75,16 +81,16 @@ module Mongo
       end
 
       unless args.length > 0
-        raise MongoArgumentError, "A ReplSetConnection requires at least one node."
+        raise MongoArgumentError, "A ReplSetConnection requires at least one seed node."
       end
 
-      # Get the list of seed nodes
+      # The list of seed nodes
       @seeds = args
 
       # The members of the replica set, stored as instances of Mongo::Node.
       @nodes = []
 
-      # Connection pool for primay node
+      # Connection pool for primary node
       @primary      = nil
       @primary_pool = nil
 
@@ -93,17 +99,26 @@ module Mongo
       @secondary_pools = []
 
       # The secondary pool to which we'll be sending reads.
+      # This may be identical to the primary pool.
       @read_pool = nil
 
-      # A list of arbiter address (for client information only)
+      # A list of arbiter addresses (for client information only)
       @arbiters = []
 
-      # An array mapping secondaries by proximity
-      @ping_ranges = Array.new(3) { |i| Array.new }
+      # Refresh
+      @auto_refresh = opts.fetch(:auto_refresh, true)
+      @refresh_interval = opts[:refresh_interval] || 90
 
       # Are we allowing reads from secondaries?
       @read_secondary = opts.fetch(:read_secondary, false)
 
+      # Lock around changes to the global config
+      @connection_lock = Mutex.new
+      @connected = false
+
+      # Store the refresher thread
+      @refresh_thread = nil
+
       # Replica set name
       if opts[:rs_name]
         warn ":rs_name option has been deprecated and will be removed in 2.0. " +
@@ -116,29 +131,58 @@ module Mongo
       setup(opts)
     end
 
-    # Use the provided seed nodes to initiate a connection
-    # to the replica set.
+    # Initiate a connection to the replica set.
     def connect
-      connect_to_members
-      initialize_pools
+      @connection_lock.synchronize do
+        return if @connected
+        manager = PoolManager.new(self, @seeds)
+        manager.connect
 
-      if connected?
-        choose_node_for_reads
-        update_seed_list
-        BSON::BSON_CODER.update_max_bson_size(self)
-      else
-        close
+        update_config(manager)
+        #BSON::BSON_CODER.update_max_bson_size(self)
+        initiate_auto_refresh
 
-        if @primary.nil?
+        if @primary.nil? #TODO: in v2.0, we'll let this be optional and do a lazy connect.
           raise ConnectionFailure, "Failed to connect to primary node."
         else
-          raise ConnectionFailure, "Failed to connect to any given member."
+          @connected = true
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Note: this method must be called from within
+    # a locked @connection_lock
+    def update_config(manager)
+      @arbiters = manager.arbiters.nil? ? [] : manager.arbiters.dup
+      @primary = manager.primary.nil? ? nil : manager.primary.dup
+      @secondaries = manager.secondaries.dup
+
+      @primary_pool = manager.primary_pool
+      @read_pool    = manager.read_pool
+      @secondary_pools = manager.secondary_pools
+      @seeds = manager.seeds
+      @manager = manager
+      @hosts = manager.hosts
+    end
+
+    # If ismaster doesn't match our current view
+    # then create a new PoolManager, passing in our
+    # existing view. It should be able to do the diff.
+    # Then take out the connection lock and replace
+    # our current values.
+    def refresh
+      background_manager = PoolManager.new(self, @seeds)
+
+      if update_struct = background_manager.update_required?(@hosts)
+        @connection_lock.synchronize do
+          background_manager.update(@manager, update_struct)
+          update_config(background_manager)
         end
       end
     end
 
     def connected?
-      @primary_pool || (!@secondary_pools.empty? && @read_secondary)
+      @connected && !@connection_lock.locked?
     end
 
     # @deprecated
@@ -165,21 +209,31 @@ module Mongo
     #
     # @return [Boolean]
     def read_primary?
-      !@read_pool
+      @read_pool == @primary_pool
     end
     alias :primary? :read_primary?
 
     # Close the connection to the database.
     def close
       super
+
+      @connected = false
+      if @refresh_thread
+        @refresh_thread.kill
+        @refresh_thread = nil
+      end
+
       @nodes.each do |member|
         member.disconnect
       end
+
       @nodes = []
       @read_pool = nil
+
       @secondary_pools.each do |pool|
         pool.close
       end
+
       @secondaries     = []
       @secondary_pools = []
       @arbiters        = []
@@ -217,102 +271,34 @@ module Mongo
 
     private
 
-    # Iterate through the list of provided seed
-    # nodes until we've gotten a response from the
-    # replica set we're trying to connect to.
-    #
-    # If we don't get a response, raise an exception.
-    def get_valid_seed_node
-      @seeds.each do |seed|
-        node = Mongo::Node.new(self, seed)
-        if node.connect && node.set_config
-          return node
-        end
+    def initiate_auto_refresh
+      return if @refresh_thread && @refresh_thread.alive?
+      @refresh_thread = Thread.new do
+        sleep(@refresh_interval)
+        refresh
       end
-
-      raise ConnectionFailure, "Cannot connect to a replica set using seeds " +
-        "#{@seeds.map {|s| "#{s[0]}:#{s[1]}" }.join(', ')}"
-    end
-
-    # Connect to each member of the replica set
-    # as reported by the given seed node, and cache
-    # those connections in the @nodes array.
-    def connect_to_members
-      seed = get_valid_seed_node
-
-      seed.node_list.each do |host|
-        node = Mongo::Node.new(self, host)
-        if node.connect && node.set_config
-          @nodes << node
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    # Initialize the connection pools to the primary and secondary nodes.
-    def initialize_pools
-      if @nodes.empty?
-        raise ConnectionFailure, "Failed to connect to any given member."
-      end
-
-      @arbiters = @nodes.first.arbiters
-
-      @nodes.each do |member|
-        if member.primary?
-          @primary = member.host_port
-          @primary_pool = Pool.new(self, member.host, member.port,
-                                   :size => @pool_size,
-                                   :timeout => @timeout,
-                                   :node => member)
-        elsif member.secondary? && !@secondaries.include?(member.host_port)
-          @secondaries << member.host_port
-          @secondary_pools << Pool.new(self, member.host, member.port,
-                                       :size => @pool_size,
-                                       :timeout => @timeout,
-                                       :node => member)
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    # Pick a node from the set of possible secondaries.
-    # If more than one node is available, use the ping
-    # time to figure out which nodes to choose from.
-    def choose_node_for_reads
-      return if @secondary_pools.empty?
-
-      if @secondary_pools.size == 1
-        @read_pool = @secondary_pools.first
-      else
-        @secondary_pools.each do |pool|
-          case pool.ping_time
-            when 0..150
-              @ping_ranges[0] << pool
-            when 150..1000
-              @ping_ranges[1] << pool
-            else
-              @ping_ranges[2] << pool
-          end
-        end
-
-        for list in @ping_ranges do
-          break if !list.empty?
-        end
-
-        @read_pool = list[rand(list.length)]
-      end
-    end
-
-    def update_seed_list
-      @seeds = @nodes.map { |n| n.host_port }
     end
 
     # Checkout a socket for reading (i.e., a secondary node).
+    # Note that @read_pool might point to the primary pool
+    # if no read pool has been defined. That's okay; we don't
+    # want to have to check for the existence of the @read_pool
+    # because that introduces concurrency issues.
     def checkout_reader
       connect unless connected?
 
       if @read_secondary && @read_pool
-        @read_pool.checkout
-      else
-        checkout_writer
+        begin
+          return @read_pool.checkout
+        rescue NoMethodError
+          warn "Read pool was not available."
+        end
+      end
+
+      begin
+        return @primary_pool.checkout
+      rescue NoMethodError
+        raise ConnectionFailure, "Not connected to any nodes."
       end
     end
 
@@ -320,12 +306,19 @@ module Mongo
     def checkout_writer
       connect unless connected?
 
-      @primary_pool.checkout
+      if @primary_pool
+        begin
+          return @primary_pool.checkout
+        rescue NoMethodError
+        end
+      end
+
+      raise ConnectionFailure, "Failed to connect to primary node."
     end
 
     # Checkin a socket used for reading.
     def checkin_reader(socket)
-      if @read_secondary && @read_pool
+      if @read_secondary
         @read_pool.checkin(socket)
       else
         checkin_writer(socket)
diff --git a/lib/mongo/util/pool.rb b/lib/mongo/util/pool.rb
index 8745473..9c2aeb3 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/util/pool.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/util/pool.rb
@@ -63,19 +63,23 @@ module Mongo
       @checked_out.clear
     end
 
+    def host_string
+      "#{@host}:#{@port}"
+    end
+
     # Return the time it takes on average
     # to do a round-trip against this node.
     def ping_time
-     trials = []
-     begin
-        PING_ATTEMPTS.times do
-          t1 = Time.now
-          self.connection['admin'].command({:ping => 1}, :socket => @node.socket)
-          trials << (Time.now - t1) * 1000
-        end
-      rescue OperationFailure, SocketError, SystemCallError, IOError => ex
-        return nil
-     end
+      trials = []
+      begin
+         PING_ATTEMPTS.times do
+           t1 = Time.now
+           self.connection['admin'].command({:ping => 1}, :socket => @node.socket)
+           trials << (Time.now - t1) * 1000
+         end
+       rescue OperationFailure, SocketError, SystemCallError, IOError => ex
+         return nil
+      end
 
       trials.sort!
       trials.delete_at(trials.length-1)
diff --git a/lib/mongo/util/pool_manager.rb b/lib/mongo/util/pool_manager.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d0a421
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/mongo/util/pool_manager.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+module Mongo
+  class PoolManager
+
+    attr_reader :connection, :seeds, :arbiters, :primary, :secondaries,
+      :primary_pool, :read_pool, :secondary_pools, :hosts
+
+    def initialize(connection, seeds)
+      @connection = connection
+      @seeds = seeds
+    end
+
+    def connect
+      initialize_data
+      nodes = connect_to_members
+      initialize_pools(nodes)
+      update_seed_list(nodes)
+    end
+
+    # Ensure that the view of the replica set is current by
+    # running the ismaster command and checking to see whether
+    # we've connected to all known nodes. If not, automatically
+    # connect to these unconnected nodes. This is handy when we've
+    # connected to a replica set with no primary or when a secondary
+    # node comes up after we've connected.
+    #
+    # If we're connected to nodes that are no longer part of the set,
+    # remove these from our set of secondary pools.
+    def update_required?(hosts)
+      node = Thread.current[:refresher_node]
+      if !node || !node.active?
+        begin
+          node = get_valid_seed_node
+          Thread.current[:refresher_node] = node
+        rescue ConnectionFailure
+          warn "Could not refresh config because no valid seed node was unavailable."
+        end
+      end
+
+      node_list = node.node_list
+
+      unconnected_nodes = node_list - hosts
+      removed_nodes = hosts - node_list
+
+      if unconnected_nodes.empty? && removed_nodes.empty?
+        return false
+      else
+        {:unconnected => unconnected_nodes, :removed => removed_nodes}
+      end
+    end
+
+    def update(manager, node_struct)
+      reference_manager_data(manager)
+      unconnected_nodes = node_struct[:unconnected]
+      removed_nodes = node_struct[:removed]
+
+      if !removed_nodes.empty?
+        removed_nodes.each do |node|
+          if @primary_pool && @primary_pool.host_string == node
+            @primary = nil
+            @primary_pool.close
+            @primary_pool = nil
+          elsif rejected_pool = @secondary_pools.reject! {|pool| pool.host_string == node}
+            @secondaries.reject! do |secondary|
+              secondary.port == rejected_pool.port && secondary.host == rejected_pool.host
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      if !unconnected_nodes.empty?
+        nodes = []
+        unconnected_nodes.each do |host_port|
+          node = Mongo::Node.new(self.connection, host_port)
+          if node.connect && node.set_config
+            nodes << node
+          end
+        end
+
+        if !nodes.empty?
+          initialize_pools(nodes)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    # Note that @arbiters and @read_pool will be
+    # assigned automatically.
+    def reference_manager_data(manager)
+      @primary = manager.primary
+      @primary_pool = manager.primary_pool
+      @secondaries = manager.secondaries
+      @secondary_pools = manager.secondary_pools
+      @read_pool = manager.read_pool
+      @arbiters = manager.arbiters
+      @hosts = manager.hosts
+    end
+
+    def initialize_data
+      @primary = nil
+      @primary_pool = nil
+      @read_pool = nil
+      @arbiters = []
+      @secondaries = []
+      @secondary_pools = []
+      @hosts = []
+    end
+
+    def connected_nodes
+      nodes = []
+      if @primary_pool
+        nodes << "#{@primary_pool.host}:#{@primary_pool.port}"
+      end
+
+      @secondary_pools.each do |pool|
+        nodes << "#{pool.host}:#{pool.port}"
+      end
+
+      nodes
+    end
+
+    # Connect to each member of the replica set
+    # as reported by the given seed node, and return
+    # as a list of Mongo::Node objects.
+    def connect_to_members
+      nodes = []
+
+      seed = get_valid_seed_node
+
+      seed.node_list.each do |host|
+        node = Mongo::Node.new(self.connection, host)
+        if node.connect && node.set_config
+          nodes << node
+        end
+      end
+
+      if nodes.empty?
+        raise ConnectionFailure, "Failed to connect to any given member."
+      end
+
+      nodes
+    end
+
+    # Initialize the connection pools for the primary and secondary nodes.
+    def initialize_pools(nodes)
+      nodes.each do |member|
+        @hosts << member.host_string
+
+        if member.primary?
+          @primary = member.host_port
+          @primary_pool = Pool.new(self.connection, member.host, member.port,
+                                  :size => self.connection.pool_size,
+                                  :timeout => self.connection.connect_timeout,
+                                  :node => member)
+        elsif member.secondary? && !@secondaries.include?(member.host_port)
+          @secondaries << member.host_port
+          @secondary_pools << Pool.new(self.connection, member.host, member.port,
+                                       :size => self.connection.pool_size,
+                                       :timeout => self.connection.connect_timeout,
+                                       :node => member)
+        end
+      end
+
+      @arbiters = nodes.first.arbiters
+      choose_read_pool
+    end
+
+    # Pick a node from the set of possible secondaries.
+    # If more than one node is available, use the ping
+    # time to figure out which nodes to choose from.
+    def choose_read_pool
+      if @secondary_pools.empty?
+        @read_pool = @primary_pool
+      elsif @secondary_pools.size == 1
+        @read_pool = @secondary_pools[0]
+      else
+        ping_ranges = Array.new(3) { |i| Array.new }
+        @secondary_pools.each do |pool|
+          case pool.ping_time
+            when 0..150
+              ping_ranges[0] << pool
+            when 150..1000
+              ping_ranges[1] << pool
+            else
+              ping_ranges[2] << pool
+          end
+        end
+
+        for list in ping_ranges do
+          break if !list.empty?
+        end
+
+        @read_pool = list[rand(list.length)]
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Iterate through the list of provided seed
+    # nodes until we've gotten a response from the
+    # replica set we're trying to connect to.
+    #
+    # If we don't get a response, raise an exception.
+    def get_valid_seed_node
+      @seeds.each do |seed|
+        node = Mongo::Node.new(self.connection, seed)
+        if node.connect && node.set_config
+          return node
+        end
+      end
+
+      raise ConnectionFailure, "Cannot connect to a replica set using seeds " +
+        "#{@seeds.map {|s| "#{s[0]}:#{s[1]}" }.join(', ')}"
+    end
+
+    def update_seed_list(nodes)
+      @seeds = nodes.map { |n| n.host_port }
+    end
+
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/replica_sets/refresh_test.rb b/test/replica_sets/refresh_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f9c790
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/replica_sets/refresh_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+$:.unshift(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', 'lib'))
+require './test/replica_sets/rs_test_helper'
+require 'benchmark'
+
+# NOTE: This test expects a replica set of three nodes to be running on RS.host,
+# on ports TEST_PORT, RS.ports[1], and TEST + 2.
+class ReplicaSetRefreshTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
+  include Mongo
+
+  def setup
+    #RS.restart_killed_nodes
+  end
+
+  def teardown
+    RS.restart_killed_nodes
+  end
+
+  def test_connect_and_manual_refresh_with_secondaries_down
+    RS.kill_all_secondaries
+
+    rescue_connection_failure do
+      @conn = ReplSetConnection.new([RS.host, RS.ports[0]], [RS.host, RS.ports[1]],
+        [RS.host, RS.ports[2]], :auto_refresh => false)
+    end
+
+    assert_equal [], @conn.secondaries
+    assert @conn.connected?
+    assert_equal @conn.read_pool, @conn.primary_pool
+
+    # Refresh with no change to set
+    @conn.refresh
+    assert_equal [], @conn.secondaries
+    assert @conn.connected?
+    assert_equal @conn.read_pool, @conn.primary_pool
+
+    RS.restart_killed_nodes
+    assert_equal [], @conn.secondaries
+    assert @conn.connected?
+    assert_equal @conn.read_pool, @conn.primary_pool
+
+    # Refresh with everything up
+    @conn.refresh
+    assert @conn.read_pool
+    assert @conn.secondaries.length > 0
+  end
+
+  def test_automated_refresh_with_secondaries_down
+    RS.kill_all_secondaries
+
+    rescue_connection_failure do
+      @conn = ReplSetConnection.new([RS.host, RS.ports[0]], [RS.host, RS.ports[1]],
+        [RS.host, RS.ports[2]], :refresh_interval => 2, :auto_refresh => true)
+    end
+
+    assert_equal [], @conn.secondaries
+    assert @conn.connected?
+    assert_equal @conn.read_pool, @conn.primary_pool
+
+    RS.restart_killed_nodes
+
+    sleep(3)
+
+    assert @conn.read_pool != @conn.primary_pool, "Read pool and primary pool are identical."
+    assert @conn.secondaries.length > 0, "No secondaries have been added."
+  end
+
+  def test_automated_refresh_with_removed_node
+
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/replica_sets/rs_test_helper.rb b/test/replica_sets/rs_test_helper.rb
index b517b83..0864cf0 100644
--- a/test/replica_sets/rs_test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/replica_sets/rs_test_helper.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ class Test::Unit::TestCase
       yield
     rescue Mongo::ConnectionFailure => ex
       puts "Rescue attempt #{retries}: from #{ex}"
-      puts ex.backtrace
       retries += 1
       raise ex if retries > max_retries
       sleep(1)
diff --git a/test/tools/repl_set_manager.rb b/test/tools/repl_set_manager.rb
index 1367bcd..3d72a64 100644
--- a/test/tools/repl_set_manager.rb
+++ b/test/tools/repl_set_manager.rb
@@ -154,6 +154,15 @@ class ReplSetManager
     return node
   end
 
+  def kill_all_secondaries
+    nodes = get_all_nodes_with_state(2)
+    if nodes
+      nodes.each do |n|
+        kill(n)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   def restart_killed_nodes
     nodes = @mongods.keys.select do |key|
       @mongods[key]['up'] == false
@@ -228,13 +237,25 @@ class ReplSetManager
     end
   end
 
+  def get_all_nodes_with_state(state)
+    status = ensure_up
+    nodes = status['members'].select {|m| m['state'] == state}
+    nodes = nodes.map do |node|
+      host_port = node['name'].split(':')
+      port = host_port[1] ? host_port[1].to_i : 27017
+      @mongods.keys.detect {|key| @mongods[key]['port'] == port}
+    end
+
+    nodes == [] ? false : nodes
+  end
+
   def get_node_with_state(state)
     status = ensure_up
     node = status['members'].detect {|m| m['state'] == state}
     if node
       host_port = node['name'].split(':')
       port = host_port[1] ? host_port[1].to_i : 27017
-      key = @mongods.keys.detect {|key| @mongods[key]['port'] == port}
+      key = @mongods.keys.detect {|n| @mongods[n]['port'] == port}
       return key
     else
       return false