Handsome, fiery-tempered Nicholas Saint-Just was known to all New Orleans as a lawless pirate, a wanton womanizer, and a murderer. Yet his plantation was the only security that Eavin O'Flannery Dupre had ever known. Having lost both husband and child, she offers to take care of her niece, his motherless daughter, and run his plantation home, with the understanding that she never wishes to be touched by a man again. But a bargain made with the devil is meant to be broken. As the hated British are poised to attack, Eavin discovers passion with a man who scorns love but desperately needs her understanding. Together, they fight their desires, their enemies, and each other, until circumstances force them to make terrible choices. And in the maelstrom of war, they discover that love can always find a way.