Nicholas Saint-Just is known to all New Orleans as a lawless pirate, a wanton womanizer, and a murderer. Yet his plantation is the only security Eavin O'Flannery Dupre has 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. In the maelstrom of war, can love find a way to their hearts?