Young Bethlyn Talbot, daughter of the Earl of Dunsmoor, is forced into an arranged marriage with brash colonial Ian Briston, who abandons her after the wedding ceremony. Seven years later, Bethlyn has blossomed into a beautiful and alluring young woman, with a husband in name only. Wishing for the marriage to be annulled or force her errant husband to make her his wife in all ways, 21 year old Bethlyn leaves England for America on one of her father's ships. But when the ship is captured by the infamous American privateer, Captain Hawk, he mistakes her for a prostitute. Fighting her attraction for the masked pirate, Bethlyn becomes Hawk's prey and succumbs to nights of passion in the arms of the buccaneer. What will happen when she finally arrives in Philadelphia to claim her wayward spouse now that she's known the ecstasy of being the pirate's bride?