Valessa is in danger. Her town has been captured by Aventinian raiders, the women taken, and now she's on a ship destined for nowhere good. But when a terrifying, four-armed sea-ogre pirate boards the ships and demands compensation, Valessa's luck changes. The sea-ogre demands a bride. It's the perfect opportunity for her to escape. Valessa volunteers. She tells everyone she's very experienced with sea-ogres and knows just how to please them. She's very descriptive about it, too. Thing is . . . Valessa's a liar. She's never met a sea-ogre in her life. But it can't be that hard to keep one man-slash-monster happy, can it?