When shapeshifting mermaid Darya runs away from her royal family, she disguises herself as a human and escapes onto the first ship that will take her, realizing too late that she has joined the crew of the handsome and notoriously wanted pirate captain Ortez, whose one goal is to capture a mermaid just like her.

With his reputation stained by blood and deception, Darya is determined to keep her distance, but when her first time on a ship yields seasickness she didn’t expect, Ortez is there, his seaworn hands holding back her hair and his ginger candies easing her nausea. Though she fears what he might do if he found out her true identity, what scares her the most is how her eyes linger on him.

But bloodthirsty sirens and royally scorned mermaids aren’t the only perils lurking on the high seas. As unnatural storms and an ancient sea monster threaten their ship, dangerous secrets of Ortez’s deceptive past begin to unravel. With betrayal around every corner, can Ortez truly be trusted or will a pirate always steal whatever he can, even if what he can steal is her heart?