July 1916. Swimming in the sea is a relatively new pastime. When a swimmer dies on the Jersey shore, Dr. Edwin Halsey is the only one believes the perpetrator was a shark. The public-- and the authorities-- don't believe him. Local fisherman tell about creature they call the Beast; the native Lenape have their own beliefs about this creature. As more attacks occur, theory abound: it may even be a German submarine! Can Dr. Halsey convince the rest of the world it was a shark attack? -- adapted from jacket