[close] It is the eighteenth century in a world filled with magic and those born with the talent to use it... The waters of the Caribbean are a haven for pirates; the most feared of them all is Bess O'Bedlam, known as the Water Witch. With a cutthroat crew and a fleet of ships at her command, Bess' lust for riches knows no bounds. She is on the trail of the greatest prize ever taken - silver, gold and jewels beyond imagining, plundered from a Spanish galleon by the infamous freebooter Fancy Tom Carew. His ship, the Deceiver, and her crew have been thought lost for twenty-five years, but an encounter in an Antiguan alley leads Bess to Marguerite de Vries, a Dutch thief who does not know she is the key to a king's ransom. The Water Witch will use any means to find Deceiver's grave, including seduction, however she had not reckoned on a fiery-tempered opponent determined to protect her heart at any cost. A search for lost treasure becomes a race against time as the women are pitted against a deadly magical curse, and must overcome many enemies in their quest for Deceiver...and each other's love. [close]