"The Marriage of the Sea" engages readers with a mesmerizing and complex dance of characters, all drawn to the enchanting and treacherous cities of Venice and New Orleans. Oswaldo, nestled within the decaying grandeur of Venice, contemplates the erosion of both his physical form and the city he cherishes, concocting schemes to defy the progression of time. Across the ocean, Lach celebrates newfound liberation beneath New York's clear night sky, casting aside Vera to unite with his new amore, Francesca, in Venice. Meanwhile, in London's damp embrace, Max haphazardly packs for a spontaneous relocation to New Orleans, infatuated with Lucinde—a woman he scarcely knows. As the skies open over New Orleans, Lucinde rushes to Vera, who, despite the sting of betrayal, has taken up an opportunity to paint in Venice. In the quiet hum of the Crescent City, Anton sketches a farewell on his sleeping wife Josephine's body, his sights set on success in the intoxicating city of water. Jane Alison orchestrates a symphony of desires and dreams where love intertwines with loneliness, ambitions collide with desperation, and destiny plays its tune in two cities synonymous with romance and mischief.