Tara Cole, played by Jeri Ryan, is an old friend of Sophie Devereaux's and a fellow grifter. When Sophie left the Leverage team to do some soul-searching, she asked Tara to fill in for her to pay back an unknown debt. Unlike the rest of the Leverage crew, Tara grifts for money, and for a time, demanded a cut of whatever money they recovered, which Nate paid out of his own funds. Although the team was mistrustful of her at first, she soon became a valued member of the team.