Riku pushed Romilly back till her knees pressed against the great slab. Mahil was dancing round mouthing incantations. The tribe swayed and chanted as they watched. The warriors lifted Romilly onto the altar and bound her, ropes about her ankles and wrists. She had never believed in God, not seriously, bucking against attending services in the church on her father's estate or going to those in London, but again she prayed. 'Dear Jesus, save me.'
It is the mid-seventeenth century. Lady Romilly Fielding is an 18-year-old virgin. Beautiful, rich and spoilt, she is travelling to Virginia to visit relatives who own plantations there. She is accompanied by her betrothed, whom she does not love, plus several other friends and servants, but there is a storm when they reach the West Indies and they are shipwrecked on a tropical island. Set upon by natives, she and her companions are rescued by a mysterious man and his ruffian followers. He is Armand Tertius, the scourge of the Caribbean, a deposed aristocrat who has become a pirate, living like an emperor in his fortress and controlling all the area around. He has slaves of both sexes and a stunning mistress, and introduces Romilly to the enigma of pleasure and pain - becoming her master. Her pride is ground into the dust and, although she has other suitors, when the time comes for her to be rescued by a British ship will she leave Armand? Or will she remain in his Devil's Paradise forever, captivated by this intriguing sea-wolf?