From Introduction: Setting: A cruise ship. The characters are all on board the Socratic Cruise Lines' ship The Elenchi, happily enjoying life (as either passenger or crew member) when a sudden storm hits. The ship is violently tossed to and fro; everyone holds on for dear life, and then as suddenly as the freakish squall came upon them it's over. As the officers and crew assess the damage, it quickly becomes apparent that some people are missing, and some are dead, killed accidentally during the storm. And then the weirdness begins.