BOOK #1

Mae Blackthorne, the daughter of an English shipbuilder and a Filipina immigrant, has been taught to ride sidesaddle, embroider pillows, and dance the waltz. So when her brother disappears at sea, she hasn't a clue what to do when the family's shipbuilding business falls into bankruptcy. It isn't long before Mae is penniless. Or so she believes. Forced to accept a post as governess in the home she was raised in, Mae takes on the challenge in good spirits. Yet she is restless and yearns for the life of adventure. That is, until she meets Ethan Locke, a pirate who offers her an opportunity to recover her secret inheritance. Unbeknownst to Mae, her family used their shipbuilding business to shroud generations of piracy. Locke, who was once partners with her father, has an old score to settle. He claims that her father stole from him an object of great value: a sapphire that can stop its wearer from growing old. As her father's last surviving heir, Mae is Locke's only hope of finding this supernatural jewel hidden amidst her family's secret fortune.