Separated by the War: Pirates is the prequel of the Separated by the War series. It is the story of Jonah Riley, from his childhood on the Rock Farm to becoming one of the youngest sea captains, serving as a privateer interdicting pirates and Flower Society on the high seas. He left the sea to raise his family on a secluded farm far from the sea until a skirmish between Yankee and Rebel soldiers seriously injured him and killed his wife and children, and separated him from surviving members of his family. Returning to the sea, he battled the evil Flower Society and other pirates in a never-ending conflict with pirates. Learning of the survival of his children and their conflict with the Flower Society, he pursues them across the war-torn US continent.

The previous books are Separated by the War: The Cave, Separated by the War: Steamboats, and Separated by the War: Wagontrains. The stories tell of the separation of the Riley family on their secluded farm, the rescue of the twin boys to be raised in the North and South, Jonah's survival and return to the sea, and the mysterious survival and adventures of June Riley in her search for her uncle in the high desert in the Big Bend country of Texas and on to the high Rocky Mountains.