In The Marriage Gift, James and Paula, a Minneapolis couple, receive a wedding invitation from a mysterious cousin. This event compels them to undertake a perilous quest to find the perfect wedding gift, a gift that must embody everything they believe about marriage in general, and everything they know about their own; it must be, in fact, a Marriage Gift. First, they consult the wise people of their tribe (his family, her friend). Then in search of this treasure, the couple dare to delve into that vast and and miraculous maze: the Mall. But the gift they discover is not what they expected.