The night Aleka Akoni's mother is murdered is the night everything changes. Aleka, once a pampered violinist for the nobility, suddenly finds herself the scullery maid for the man responsible for her mother's death. Alone, afraid, and legally bound as an indentured servant, Aleka sees no way out except in a pine box next to her mother. But a young woman can only take so much abuse before she fights back. Slowly, Aleka begins to formulate a plan for her future, a future beyond the law. A future in which the nobleman who killed her mother is subject to punishment for his crimes. There's word the Thieves' Guild or the dreaded pirate ship, the Fearless Dawn, will take on the young and desperate. But will Aleka's quest for freedom and revenge lead her to her own early grave?