The London docks in 1818 are no place for a woman. But Aurora Dayne is about to embark on a new life. With her modest belongings and a unique bejeweled locketโher sole legacy from her dead fatherโshe boards a ship bound for Jamaica. All hell breaks loose when pirates storm the gangplank, and the sheltered orphan becomes the prisoner of a ruthless privateer named Vashon. The towering, black-caped stranger arouses Auroraโs fear, and her irresistible desire. Haunted by his past, Vashon lives outside the law and is driven by one purpose: to retrieve the Star of Aran, a fabled gem cursed by its own dark history. Beautiful Aurora is the key to Vashonโs quest.