Answer:
One of the clients is in serious condition, and their dive boat has vanished—along with Julie's father, the only person who knows their whereabouts. It's only a matter of time before they die of hypothermia, unless they become shark bait first. Though Julie may not like her clients, it's up to her to save them all.
Answer: Yes, If punishments were harsh enough, there would probably be no crime.
Explanation: If people who disobeyed the law were strongly punished, then it would be less likely that people would break the rules of the government. Less people would speed, and more people would probably start being more serious about it. For example, crimes like bank robberies would probably become less likely if they had to pay off all of the money they stole. Being punished for certain things could be harsher. If this happens, the amount of crime will probably decrease, but it will not completely disappear. This is why I think If punishments were harsh enough, there would be no crime.
Dukes and duchesses ruled areas called "duchies". These duchies were rarely their own countries, and usually parts of a larger sovereign country ruled by a king and queen. So there would be one king and one queen ruling a country, for example, but there could be several dukes and duchesses ruling smaller territories of the country. Dukes and duchesses are always lower than kings and queens.
Barons and baronesses are the lowest ranking of the nobles. I'm not certain what power they had but I'm pretty sure the title was mostly honorary.
A basic hierarchy would look something like this:
Emperor/Empress
King/Queen
Archduke
Grand Duke
Prince/Princess
Duke/Duchess
Marquess/Marchioness
Earl
Baron/Baroness
I'm pretty sure I left a few titles out, but hopefully that answered your question.