Osprey Reef — Victoria McKernan

Chicago, a hot-tempered young widow, who has been raised by her sea-captain father, was as much at home at sea as she was on land. She lived alone on board the ketch that she kept in a Miami marina, teaching scuba-diving and capturing exotic creatures she sold to aquariums.

An order from a Maryland buyer sent her and Umbi, her Haitian helper, to Osprey Reef, where she collected the rare jewel-like fish. On this morning, underwater and unnamed, they were set upon by every diver's worst fear. Sharks. They escaped into the reef but not before Chicago was wounded. Umbi was able to drag her to the surface where they discovered another calamity. Their skiff was gone, its anchor chain cut.

Fortunately they were spotted by Alex Sanders, a Federal agent who had been observing the reef her suspected as a transfer point for drug smuggling. Next time, Chicago would not be able to count on such a lucky rescue. And it would soon be equally important to her to know if she could count on Alex.