Nathan Zachary, the leader of the notorious Fortune Hunters pirate gang, is a man of contradictions. On the one hand, he is the Machiavellian, scheming plotter—a master criminal, a daring thief and a deadly combatant (both in and out of the cockpit). On the other hand, he only steals from the vulgar rich, and never knowingly allows the innocent to come to harm during his raids.

Zachary (raised as a nomad by his Gypsy parents) left home at age 16, and enlisted in the military, bent on "battling the Hun" overseas. He was sent to Europe as part of the Escadrille Lafayette and served (albeit briefly) under the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker in the 94th Pursuit Squadron. Unfortunately, Zachary's tenure with the 94th was ended under the guns of German ace Heinrich Kisler; the young pilot found himself in a German prison camp.

Zachary eventually engineered a daring escape, and fled to Russia (where he fought alongside, and later against, the Communists). After the chaos and confusion of Russia, Zachary once again headed West, using influence—and possibly some shadier means—to finagle an enrollment at Oxford. After graduating, he returned to the United States.

Once back in America, Zachary used his reputation as a war hero and his considerable "smarts" to amass a small fortune on Wall Street. When the stock market crashed in '29, Zachary was forced to abandon his life of privilege. It was a small jump to piracy thereafter.

Though Zachary's early raids could hardly be termed unqualified successes—his first wingman, Bill Mulligan, died in the group's first outing; the Fortune Hunters' first zeppelin, the Oracle, was destroyed by mid-1933—Zachary quickly developed a network of informants, snitches and stool pigeons.

Now, Zachary has sources of sensitive information across North America, from Hollywood to the Empire State. By carefully sifting the data he acquires through his web of shady contacts, Zachary plans one daring, successful raid after another. It is only a matter of time before Zachary becomes on of the most feared and respected pirate leaders in the skies!