The South Pacific Islands. Remote. Mysterious. Far removed from modern civilization, many virtually unknown tribal cultures keep ancient beliefs and superstitions alive... or could it be that these primitive people have tapped into something beyond our ken? The game forcibly thrusts the player into this environment of mystique and danger.

At the outset, the player, a trader in rare and eccentric items, encounters a violent monsoon storm. After being tossed about in his or her small trade-ship, the player is struck on the head and loses consciousness. The player awakens in the pouring tropical rain on a beach.

Soon after moving from this initial location, the player encounters one of the twenty characters in the game. The character hysterically says that the village is afflicted with an ancient curse, and that the villagers have been killing each other, one by one, for months. Praising Ararametepititan and generally treating the player as some kind of savior, the native beckons the player toward the village. After taking stock of his or her surroundings, the player realizes he or she has conducted business on an island in this vicinity before, and has even gained some proficiency in a language similar to the native tongue.

The player can now freely move about the island of Tep. Using a text parser interface, the player is able to examine the surroundings, pick up some objects, and speak with the villagers. Time passes with each action the player takes, and the player will need to sleep come nightfall.

At the center of the village lies a huge stone idol carved in the image of the native Land God, Tepititan. Surrounding it is four grotesque statues. At the foot of the idol is a large stone tablet covered in hieroglyphics. The Wise Woman Sheroesha, an elderly, possibly senile priestess of Ararametepititan, relates the mythology of Tep.

In the beginning, Ararametepititan existed alone as the sum total of the universe. Chaos and order, light and dark, good and evil all existed and continue to exist as Him. Growing tired with solitary existence, he spawned two sons, Rametep and Tepititan, and charged them with creating new forms of life. Tepititan embodied his father's more ordered, creative aspects; he set about building the earth, the mountains, forests, and the creatures that inhabit the land. Rametep represented the chaotic, malevolent side of his progenitor; he began creating sea monsters, and lurkers of the deep. Before long, Tepititan's creatures were flourishing in a balanced, harmonious ecosystem, whereas Rametep's monsters quickly devoured one another. The stars are said to be the resting place of the vanquished monsters' souls. Over time, Tepititan developed the perfect life form: a sentient race he christened "humanity". Rametep, driven mad with jealousy, sought to remake humanity after his own image; his dark influence in produced vice, corruption and evil to man's otherwise pristine existence. Ararametepititan, seeing an interesting struggle developing between his two sons, ensured that each side battles in perpetuity, guaranteeing his continued amusement. If one son gains too much power over the other's domain, he intervenes to reinstate balance.

Every hundred years, Rametep makes a concerted attack on Tepititan. His Four Statues arise amidst horrendous monsoon storms and the most susceptible villagers are turned to his vile side. Each night, the four possessed villagers conspire to sacrifice a fellow village person to their dark lord. Persons so sacrificed are banished to the Watery Hell of the night sky, to be dissected and analyzed by Rametep in the hope that he can understand how man was created. The only way Tepititan can repeal his brother's influence is for the village to choose one of their own to be sacrificed, to him, once per day. This sacrifice must occur at twilight, for Rametep's encroaching darkness consumes the body while the last glimmers of the sun whisk the spirit away. These individuals are sent to the paradise of the sun, where their souls are cleansed and eternal ecstasy awaits. The villagers are challenged to know which of their own has allowed his or her dark side to overcome him. When one of the corrupted villagers is sacrificed to Tepititan, the corresponding Statue of Rametep will crumble into dust, until only one or the other God's faithful remain.

It is said that if either son gains too much of an upper hand, Ararametepititan will intervene by sending an emissary to equalize the situation. Sheroesha feels that the player is this emissary, for only Ararametepititan's intercession could have delivered the player from Rametep's storm.

After this translation, the player is once again free to do as he or she chooses. Each evening, the village convenes and each character speaks briefly on who he or she believes is a disciple of Rametep. The vote is then tallied, and the chosen one dragged to Tepititan's temple to be sacrificed. After the sacrifice, the characters speak again in reaction to their decision, for either a Statue will crumble, or it won't.

During the dead of night, the disciple(s) of Rametep go out and viciously murder an innocent villager. Several clues and a red herring or two are generated as a result of the location and method of the dirty deed (this can include villagers noticing one another in the night. Did he have insomnia or was he en route to a murder?) .

In the morning, the player awakes and once again has the ability to move about freely, examine, pick up objects (with aim to compile evidence against the killers), and speak with villagers. Villager interaction includes greetings, farewells, accusations, and the occasional personal question. Villagers have set responses for several personal questions, except for when the player queries them on their opinion about the other villagers or the player himself. The villagers are puzzled by outsiders. Although the player looks like a child of Tepititan he or she does not fear Rametep or His sea. Despite a certain apprehension regarding outsiders, the villagers are eager to talk and learn, for their fear of the sea has kept them isolated from all but a few traders that sometimes find their way to this remote island. If the parser doesn't understand a command during dialogue, the villager complains that the player's accent is too thick to be understood.

The game progresses in this manner until only Rametep's disciples survive (the player and Sheroesha are then the last sacrifices) or only Tepititan's faithful remain (each character has something to say to the player at the end). Each time the game is started, the 20 villagers' allegiances are randomized, providing a large degree of replayability.

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