On'risa desires more from the world—and she embarks on a journey to take what she wants from it.

Kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, On'risa learns the intricacies and price of surviving life within the wicked kingdom of Philanthis. After a failed escape as a child, she is sold to the A'daz of Pain to settle her owner’s debt. She quickly learns to comply with the desires of her new masters and eventually becomes a valued member of her matriarch’s A'daz. Rising from slave to become the Captain of the Ag'ita, she is betrayed by her A'daz; after a mutiny against her A'daz, she takes over the Ag'ita, joining the raiders and escaping to Falk Isle.

Plying her new trade as a pirate, she utilizes her best tools—her mind and her sword. Using their own stolen ship against them, she travels the seas of the Rohrlands, raiding villages and trading ships, plundering their wares, and selling them on Falk Isle.

The Philanthian Empress, Sisci'ta, covets Falk Isle, needing the island as a staging area to wage war against Kaloriador. She has vowed to have both, destroying one of the few remaining safe harbors for the raiders.

Forced to become a defender of the innocents living on Falk Isle along with her cutthroat companions, On'risa struggles to balance her own needs and desires with those she has chosen to defend against the kingdom of Philanthis.