"Stevens excels at depicting pulse-pounding danger... Her writing places her heads above most authors working in the thriller genre. Only Dan Brown and Lee Child come close." --Dallas Morning News

Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and information hunter, has a reputation for getting things done--often dangerous and not quite legal things.

With blood on her hands and a soul stained with guilt, Munroe has fled to Djibouti, Africa. There, with no responsibility except a gig at a small maritime security company, Munroe finds stillness--until she's pressured to work as an armed guard on a ship bound for Kenya. On board, Munroe discovers the contract is merely cover for gunrunning; when the ship is invaded off the Somali coast, she fights her way out--dragging the unconscious captain with her.

But nothing about the hijacking is what it seems. The pirates had come for the captain, and continuing their pursuit, they unwittingly raise the killer's instinct Munroe has tried so hard to bury. Wounded and on the run, Vanessa Michael Munroe will use the life of her catch as bait and bartering chip to manipulate every player, and wash her conscience clean.