The cruise ship lurched throwing Carrie against the passageway wall. She felt a sharp pain in her hip as it slammed into the hand rail. She rubbed it until the pain subsided, then she chuckled. The bruise would be the cheapest souvenir Carrie brought home from her vacation. She moved forward, this time holding onto the ship's rail. Again the floor dropped away. She laughed for the sheer joy of the experience. Startled by the grumbling behind her, Carrie turned to see an old man hunched over grabbing tight to the rail. He looked to be in his early eighties, frail and wrinkled. His purple sweat outfit hung loosely over his gaunt body.

Rushing to help, Carrie put a steadying hand on his back and encouraged, Walking's a bit of a struggle tonight isn't it? Can I help?

Damn ship, he muttered and glared at Carrie.I just want a damn cookie so I can take my pills and go to sleep. Damn ship keeps throwing me around.

The ocean is a bit rocky tonight, she smiled at him. I'm on my way to the buffet for a midnight snack. Can I bring you back your cookie?

Peanut butter. Three of them. And a glass of milk, he grumbled. And bring it to me before you eat yourself a long leisurely dinner and forget about me. I want to get some damn sleep before the sun comes up.

Carrie steadied the old man to his cabin and headed up to the lido-deck buffet for his cookies. She thought of his grunt of thanks and smiled. He had awakened more than her compassion. In some bizarre way, she felt a connection with him. Thirty-one and unloved, Carrie understood what it meant to be alone and afraid of the future.

Carrie's fears for her future were a pointless waste of time.

A stranger watched her walk down the hallway and out onto the pool deck. He had watched her all cruise. Her short blonde hair and laughing blue eyes haunted his dreams. Each night he hoped for the chance to see her alone. Each night she evaded him. But only by chance, not choice. She didn't know he existed. He put his hand in his jacket pocket and touched the scarf he held there. Rubbing it between his fingers sent a jolt up his arm and down into his groin. He stepped onto the abandoned deck and smiled.

Carrie stood alone at the rail.

Basking in the moon's glow, Carrie paid no attention to the footsteps behind her. She barely felt a flicker as the scarf slipped around her neck. The next second, she kicked out as the scarf squeezed tight, yanking her breath away. It only took a few seconds for her to fall still. He held her up and glanced over his shoulder. The laughter in the distance did not alarm him. Confident in his power, he shifted Carrie's weight and dragged her toward his room. He heard voices, and quickly turned Carrie towards him. He kissed her unconscious mouth, holding her so they appeared locked in passion.

Get a room! a guy laughed and slapped him on the back as he passed.

Alone again, he dragged Carrie into his room, tied her to the bed, and waited for her to regain consciousness.

She awoke to music, her favorite hymn. Carrie felt at peace. When her eyes fluttered open, her peace shattered. His deep blue eyes bore into hers, and then he smiled. No one heard her scream through the duct tape he'd stretched across her mouth.

Three hours later and in shock, Carrie no longer had the ability to scream. He had no difficulty guiding her to the back of the ship, where he lifted her abused and battered body, and dropped her into the dark waters below.

A cruise ship is an easy place to commit murder. Body disposal's a cinch, and suicide's the likely verdict. The only problem is determining how to choose the next victim.

Sad and sexy, women find Detective Jim Tanger attractive. He doesn't care. His wife's suicide three years ago froze his soul. When Jim hears that Sunburst Cruises has lost another young female passenger to an assumed suicide, Jim's passions erupt. He pushes the department and the cruise line into letting him investigate. Battling seasickness and overwhelming shyness, Jim must protect the women and find the killer only he believes exists.

Julie Cooper loves her husband Joel. She hopes their anniversary cruise to Hawaii will be a new beginning for them. Before her suitcases are unpacked, someone unleashes a campaign of terror against her. Anonymous threats, cryptic messages in her cabin, and an attempt on her life force Julie to look at the one person who might want her dead; the one person she trusted with her life.