Georgia girl Leah Holley can't quite explain how she allowed herself to be goaded into taking a marriage-improvement class, especially one that promises to whip her into a submissive Christian wife. Sure, her marriage may be flagging a bit, but the whole idea of bolstering it with archaic man-pleasing techniques seems like a joke-until suddenly the tricks seem to work wonders. Could her relatives' fundamentalist religious beliefs be true? Just when Leah vows to stop snickering and be truly sincere in her efforts to love, honor, and respect her husband at all times, forever, no matter what, she learns their relationship is in a darker place than she had thought, and that he has spent the entire past year-right in the middle of their living room-involved in something that causes her to fear she will never again feel secure within the walls of her own home.

Cat Montgomery is a natural-born thief with a special talent for stealth--or at least she thought so. Years ago, she stole from the diamond-hording businessman Albert Faulkner III, but he somehow figured out she was responsible. Now he wants revenge, and dares her to swipe the elusive Hope Diamond. If she fails the mission, he'll wreak bloody havoc on her loved ones. But the stakes are raised even higher when Cat discovers that stealing the Hope is not only an impossible task, it's a cursed one. . .

Meanwhile, Cat's boyfriend, FBI agent Jack Barlow, is tracking a fierce criminal known as the Gargoyle, running into Interpol and resistance among his agency. As he follows the trail to Paris, where Cat is, their missions entwine in ways neither of them would have suspected. . .

Everyone has a talent. Some are just more legal than others. Cat Montgomery steals jewels for AB&T, the premier agency for thieves in Seattle. Career perks: good pay, great disguises, constant adrenaline rush. Drawbacks: the possibility of jail time...or worse. Now she's taken on a lucrative side job-recovering a priceless Faberge egg for an alleged Romanov descendent.

Though Cat is working solo, there are plenty of interested players. Her FBI ex-boyfriend is nosing around, as is her former mentor-turned-nemesis. Then there's the sexy art thief helping-or is he hindering?-her mission. If her luck holds out, this could be the case that allows Cat to retire with her conscience and her life intact. If not, it'll be her last job for all the wrong reasons...