Edward “Blackbeard” Teach has a good reason for everything he does. Despite what his crewmen might say, he isn’t turning soft. When King George I issues a pardon for all pirates who give up their thieving ways within a year, Blackbeard sees his chance to have it all. He just needs to falsely repent within a year and then his comfortable future will be guaranteed.

He wants the easy retirement that his friend Sam Bellamy, recently perished in a sea-wreck, never had. Though he never before saw himself as a marrying man, he wants Eleanor Lewis, the girl whose fiery attitude doesn’t match her demure beauty. But, Blackbeard has made many enemies over the years—men who are not prepared to forgive him just because of a royal decree. If he truly wants a life with Eleanor, he’ll have to use every ounce of his cunning to defeat his adversaries … and possibly turn back to a life on the high seas.