Self-Made Scoundrel

Dershik Cartaskin's life is one of power, wealth, privilege... and lies. Son to an ambitious father, husband to a wife he cannot love, and father to a child who is not his own, Dershik has everything, and yet nothing to call his own.

When the price of power and the weight of lies grow too great for him to bear, he rejects everything he's ever known, leaving blood and flames behind him.

Dershik creates a new identity -- joining a band of thieves known as the Cup of Cream, and sets out to forge his legacy as Derk, the SELF-MADE SCOUNDREL. But soon he finds that even a dishonest man can't hide from the truth...

In this prequel to THIEVES AT HEART, author Tristan Tarwater tells the story of Derk, the man who changed Tavera's life forever.