The colonists build a settlement on an isolated island, and begin growing crops and stocking the nearby waters with terrestrial species to complement the "samlon", a local aquatic species. The colonists become overconfident in their security, to the frustration of expedition security officer (and former soldier) Cadmann Weyland. When unsettling events begin to happen – missing animals, fences torn down – the colonists' impaired minds prevent them from properly analyzing the situation. Weyland is suspected of sabotage to further his agenda of building up defenses. He is drugged and restrained when a monster attacks the settlement, killing ten colonists.