Genevieve Fischer is a 16-year-old junior at a bustling suburban high school, balancing the weight of academic excellence with the emotional turmoil of teenage life. Known for her straight A's and a reputation as the school's bookworm loner, she prefers the company of novels to her peers, often fading into the background, especially at parties where social dynamics can get tricky. Aside from Genevieve, all the teenagers have spent their high school years in a fictional town of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

What would you do if you found out nothing in your life is as it seems? Grace never expected to be attacked after a night out, let alone wake up in a stranger's house the morning after. But that's only the beginning. When she discovers her family has been receiving threatening letters from an anonymous writer, Grace realizes the safety her wealthy life once provided is completely gone. As more secrets begin to surface, she starts questioning everything and everyone she thought she knew, deciding to take matters into her own hands. A decision made to save her father, her only family. A decision that will bring her closer to danger, but one she won't walk away from. Even if it means risking her life. The stakes have never been higher: is Grace ready to face what's coming?

Set in a dark, heightened world against the backdrop of late 90s counterculture, Saltwater & Smoke follows two misfits: a disillusioned nineteen-year-old half-human, half-merman named Kaz Benowitz and a young ex-model turned cynical monster hunter named Allie Devereux. Kaz spends his days becoming the headline attraction of a crumbling Coney Island sideshow. By day, Kaz performs tricks in his water tank and sings onstage. By night, he dreams of strangling his crooked circus employer in his sleep. Meanwhile, Allie Devereux is tasked to infiltrate Coney Island and assassinate a local mermaid trafficker. With a careful disguise and likable persona, Allie slips easily into the chaos of the boardwalk - and catches Kaz watching her from a distance. At first, Kaz is captivated by her mysterious charm. He thinks Allie might be the answer to the aching loneliness gnawing at him. But as their paths intertwine, the half-merman slowly realizes Allie may be far more dangerous than anyone he's ever met. Yet, Allie is the first person to lift Kaz from his agony. Her independence and ruthless demeanor inspire Kaz to leave the depraved circus, and he is willing to try, even if it means committing murder. What begins as fascination spirals into chaos, haunted by strange magic and darker intentions. Saltwater & Smoke is a haunting tale of two broken people colliding at the edge of the real and the unreal - a story about horror, heartbreak, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive. It's not a murder mystery - it's a fucked-up love story.