Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice.
When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French rançon from Latin redemptio = "buying back": compare "redemption".
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN.#1 BY RIGGS, RANSOM
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs. A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the...