The ocean is the womb of all life on earth. It is beautiful and bizarre, violent and mysterious. Inhabitated by a cast of characters stolen from fantasy, it's a dystopian world where dragons are real, and monsters are commonplace. Today's spectacular marine life has an ancient history preserved in stone - fossil strata that read like damatic pages from the longest story ever told - tales of evolution, extinction and surprising continuity. Having thrived a tumultuous 500 million years, this marine kingdom is now challenged by a new, arrogant and domineering life form. This book looks beyond the media focus on climate change and extinction to celebrate the continuity of ocean life. It takes you on a personal journey to explore origins and destinies, from primordial soup to today's threatened oceans - towards a future we can influence. We always have a choice.