A priceless gem. A hunger for vengeance. A love they'll risk everything to claim.

First, they killed her father. Now Courtney Johnston is imprisoned aboard a privateer ship, an unwitting pawn in a nefarious scheme to snatch a rare and coveted diamond. Determined to take her revenge, the resourceful sea captain's daughter never dreams that fate will sweep her into the embrace of a dashing earl on his own desperate mission.

Slayde Huntley, earl of Pembourne, will gladly barter his family's priceless gem in exchange for the return of his kidnapped sister, Aurora. But Courtney, the fiery beauty who steps onto the plank like a sea nymph, is a shock to his senses. Blindsided by passion, Slayde joins Courtney to restore what is rightfully theirs . . . even as a centuries-old legacy of murder and betrayal threatens to tear them apart forever.