Publisher's Synopsis
During the voyage to America Joan discovers she is pregnant again and wonders if she'll survive after the trauma of Edmund's birth.
Not long after Joan's reunion with her parents, the disgraced Lord Thomas Marchemont and his wife Margaret, her disreputable brother, Geoffrey, re-appears. He threatens Joan's life and that of her son as part of the continuation of his vendetta against Richard. Richard makes a fatal mistake when his leniency towards Geoffrey starts a chain of events which not only costs an innocent life but threatens Richard's newfound relationship with the native chief, Black Hawk.
Eventually Geoffrey's evil activities force Richard into a situation where he is compelled to act completely out of character. Consequently, he must flee America with his family immediately, in fear of his life.
A repelled pirate attack on the voyage home leaves Richard with three fully laden ships and only crew enough to sail one. With the threat of another imminent attack will he be able to protect his family and his ships and return to England safely?
