HANNAH FORD, an under-cover cop, takes a surveillance job in Draper's Wharf. The small town on the banks of the Parramatta River in Australia has links to the drug trade, so the latest whisper goes. Her brief: to observe, report, and locate its source. When she arrives, the town is in shock after the rape and murder of its local barmaid. Hannah, a rape victim, could pull out, but she needs this job to prove her competence to return to the streets and full duties.Threaded through the main story, is Hannah's own account of guilt and rage born of her husband's death, her rape and degradation...

Those who harm it - die, goes the legend of the rare and beautiful Blood Opal. But Pug Germaine believes her husband's brutal murder has more to do with the slaughtered woman in his arms than the curse of any stone. When, one of the robbers double-crosses the others, they all lose their prize. The villains suspect Pug knows the opal's whereabouts. Pug leaves death and bankruptcy behind, takes her dog, and sails away in her only remaining possession, her boat. But she sails straight into trouble as she becomes aware of more than one stalker watching her every move. With the body count growing,...