Night & Gale

16yo orphan Imelda Quick is being raised by her maternal grandfather in dusty inland southern California, where he works at a big box superstore. Then her grandfather falls ill. Just before he passes, he clues Imelda in to a secret she's somehow overlooked in their long time together -- he has a history, and the tattoos on his chest, they form a sort of map.

A map of what? To what? Her grandfather's death upends Imelda's expectations for her life. New characters enter it; friends, enemies; mentors; ghosts of a forgotten past. On a beach north of Los Angeles, Imelda digs up a steamer trunk and learns a terrible truth -- her grandfather was the last in a long line of pirates, haunted by the priceless treasures he accumulated over the years. In the chest, amidst piles of coins and gems, Imelda finds older, more exotic things: a painting, a rug, a recipe, a skeletal hand, a black flag with a skull and cross-bones on it. What's Imelda supposed to do with them now?

Keep them? They're not her treasures to keep.

No, the only choice is to return them and, in doing so, redeem her family name before the people still searching for them find her.