Captain Jackman returns from the Orient with empty pockets and a dark suspicion: one of his own men robbed him on the final leg home. But the ex-sea captain isn't the type to lick his wounds in quiet desperation. When he stumbles onto a treacherous coastal path, he finds himself pursued by more than bad luck, until Ada Conway, daughter of a retired naval officer, pulls him from a smuggler's tunnel and into her dangerous orbit. Ada is no ordinary Victorian heroine. The sea calls to her with the same irresistible pull as the rumors of contraband and shadowy figures that move through the tunnel network along the western coast. Her rescue of Jackman isn't charity, it's the beginning of an entanglement that will test her courage and force Jackman to choose between vengeance and something far more precious. Russell, the master of maritime fiction, weaves coastal intrigue with genuine romantic heat in this overlooked gem. The tunnels serve as both literal passage and metaphor: secrets, hidden identities, and the dangerous crossing from solitude to connection. For readers who crave adventure that breathes with salt air and a heroine who acts before she doubts, this novel delivers.
