Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape, sexual assault, and alcohol and drug abuse.

A drunk driver realizes that he and his passenger aren’t going to make it across a causeway before the tide comes in. The driver (later identifiable as actor Jackson Crane) knows that death is inevitable for him and his passenger (later identifiable as artist Keith Miller). Jackson also suspects that he might deserve to die in this manner.

In the first excerpt from the fictional magazine article discussing the tragedy, it describes the aftermath of the accident: the discovery of the car and its bodies by guests breakfasting in an underwater restaurant.

The article also contextualizes the launch of the new resort, Island Home, with some background on the Home Group, Ned Groom’s conglomerate of luxury membership clubs. Ned inherited the Home Club as a rundown hangout for aging theater professionals from his grandfather and built an empire with the aid of his younger brother, Adam. Island Home, the 12th project, was behind schedule, largely due to Ned’s perfectionism and determination to continually outdo himself.