While perched on a tree branch, seeking the rarest of rare orchids, the delightful and curvy Dagny Ravenhurst in the most stylish of dresses, reaches just a tad too far and falls to an almost certain death in the wonderful blue lagoon below. As she falls into the deep depths of the water, Dagny, a naturalist to the core, is thrilled to discover the bizarre "Cretaceous" fish instead of panicking at her fate.

Hearing the splash while on the deck of a nearby ship, Tomaj Balashazy, captain of a group of loyal but motley pirates, is slightly annoyed by not finding anyone to respond, so decides to jump in the water himself and saves Dagny from the watery grave. From that moment on, the Hungarian-born Count turned pirate via being on the run from the United States Navy has his world turned topsy- turvey by his enchantment of Dagny.

Dagny had never seen anyone with such beautiful green tourmaline coloured eyes that shone the like the crystals her geologist brother, Sal, brought home to study and was immediately captivated. From his long tapered fingers, to the long curls of his head, Dagny just longed to be touched and loved by Tomaj. But, she has a small problem. Having come from a Pennsylvanian Quaker background via a harsh time of poverty in New York, she had to use her physical charms to take care of herself and her brothers. Ending up in Madagascar in 1828, Dagny became the current doxy of the brutish Paul Boneaux, a married manufacturer, rich beyond believe as he owns almost half the country, largely due to being the favoured pet of the cruel Queen Ranavalona.

Can one really find a true soulmate that just drops from the sky or does one have to wander through many strange journeys and mazes to find love? You'll just have to follow the amazing adventures of Dagny and Tomaj as they waltz from watching lumurs dance in the spiny forest, to dazed opium induced love-ins, fighting murderous Chinese pirates, enduring gale force sea voyages and bloodthirsty the anti- European tortures of the despotic Queen after the death (or was that murder?) of the beloved King Radama to find out a very surprising answer!

With the most lavish of language, Karen Murcury, has written an unusual, but well-researched historical romance, with highly colourful and off-beat characters set amongst the flora and fauna of this tropical paradise turned hell by greed and lust. With zany humour, akin to " a series of unfortunate events", emotions ring true as you follow this unusual and changing love triangle!