The leviathan, a colossal grey whale, washes up on the shore of a small island. Cut off from the rest of the world, and lashed by the unforgiving sea, its inhabitants turn to their religious leader, the Prelate, to save them from the ominous arrival of this intruder. He, along with the Stone Throwers, his acolytes who bombard the sea with shingle and rock in an attempt to subdue it, understand that this beast is none other than the devil, come to wreak havoc on the island and end their way of life altogether. A young miscreant - our narrator - fights to save the whale from these zealots and protect the shoreline to which he has been exiled. Unbeknownst to them they are about to unleash a force that ensures life on the island will never be the same again.