Shark conservationist Misty Calhoun is invited to visit the sea-based facility Akhelios by pharmaceutical billionaire Carl Durant. She and neurobiology students Leslie and Daniel Kim are taken to the facility by Durant's associate Craig Burns on a motorboat. When they arrive, they meet Durant, as well as the facility's crew, which include shark trainers Trent Slater, Mike Shutello, and Josh Hooper, and computer technician Aaron Ellroy. As a demonstration, Durant throws Aaron into the water, letting the sharks chase him: at the last possible second, he uses a key to drive them away in formation. Durant explains that he has been genetically altering the brains of five bull sharks to make them smarter, which enrages Misty.