social graces iris

Summer, a rural girl who grew up in a backward countryside, faced harsh treatment from her parents, who made her drop out of school to work and support her younger brother. When the time came for her brother to get married, Summer's parents planned to marry her off to an old bachelor in the village for $100,000. At the same time, Summer's best friend Megan was locked up by her parents, who intended to marry her off to an idiot. Determined to escape, Summer and Megan fled to Rosetown, where they vowed to establish their independence. Through hard work, Summer gradually climbed the social ladder, and one day, a misunderstanding led her to cross paths with Jason, the wealthiest man in Rosetown. Thus, an unexpected romance that would change everything began.

For eighteen years, I, Althea Quinn Calder, wanted nothing more than torn shorts, hiking boots, and a detector in my pocket. My family was known across the stars as a glamorous treasure-hunting team, but what most people never knew was that our real fortune came from finding alien artifacts hidden inside ancient ruins. At a charity gala on Sobek Space Station, I was forced into an elegant dress and high heels, only to discover that the night was not just another social event. Our old rival, Alistair Draven, appeared again, watching us like a predator and hinting that he already knew about the secret mission my father had planned. Even worse, my father had hired a new intern without telling me. His name was Kaelan Frost, a brilliant student with green eyes, a Capellan accent, and the most dangerous effect on my concentration. I hated the idea of adding anyone to our team—until he joined our next expedition to New Haven, where a dive into the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge led me to a hidden metal box, a ruby ring, and a cipher connected to the lost lover of the infamous space pirate Edward Teach. The clue pointed us from a sunken ship to a protected estate, then to a secret garden where another message revealed something far bigger: Teach had hidden not only pirate treasure, but the missing fortune of a destroyed Spanish treasure fleet. Every clue brings Kaelan and me closer, but it also brings Alistair closer to us. He has followed every expedition we ever took, and this time, if he discovers what I am carrying, the next treasure we uncover may become the one that gets us killed.