Gilthen Ahn is captain of the Darck Banks cartel, a pirate band working deep in Republic space. He has six ships under his command and, unless he finds money to pay off his substantial debts, he'll lose everything.
Tera d'Olzon is a privileged member of Republic high society, trying to make a difference by thumbing her nose at everything her family stands for. Unfortunately, things haven't quite turned out the way she anticipated and, while running from the Security Force, she is 'rescued' by Gil's cartel.
The reasonable thing for the cartel to do is to ransom her. But that won't bring in enough money. So Gil hatches a plan…
(2016 update: This book, previously titled THE PIRATE'S GRAND PLAN, has been re-edited for this edition. A compact of list of people, places and things is also included)