The Palomar, a whale-watching vessel, is attacked by mysterious creatures off the coast of Alaska. The attack is witnessed by members of a new-age commune on the shore but they’re not sure what they saw and their ingestion of certain psychotropic substances make their witness statements highly suspect. FBI Agent Dirk Lightfoot is sent from the Seattle field office to investigate with the Coast Guard’s assistance. The search goes on for a long time but there is no trace of the ship or its 200-plus passengers and crew. Lightfoot is puzzled but as the investigation progresses he becomes convinced that the new age residents are on to something. Can he, though, convince the government bureaucracy to follow up on it?
