With the collapse of the legitimate government, the strategically criticalcountry of Somalia became a haven for lawlessness and piracy. Lacking afunctional government, an army, an effective police force, or any one powerfulenough to stop them, mobs, gangs, and warlords did as they pleased. RAGSTO RICHES is a fictional account of the brutal acts of piracy by many ofthese men against hundreds of international oil tankers. Piracy continued foryears before the maritime nations rose up and began patrolling thesedangerous waters with warships. It is the early story of the brave merchantseamen who faced armed pirates with little more than their wits. It is also thetale of a desperately poor Somali family who take to piracy in order toeat. Look into the minds of these men and women to feel what they feel, to bepart of an armed skirmish on the deck of a floating time bomb, and to seewhat hunger and fear will drive men to do.