A very powerful blizzard hits the fictional small town of Little Tall Island (also the setting of King's novel Dolores Claiborne) off the coast of Maine. This storm is so powerful that all access off the island is blocked, and no one is able to leave the island, until the storm is over. While trying to deal with the storm, the citizens of the town are visited by Andre Linoge (Colm Feore), a menacing stranger who apparently knows all of the townsfolk's darkest secrets (among which are abortion, adultery, growing marijuana, and gay-bashing). In a dream, the townspeople see themselves walking into the sea two-by-two with the word Croatoan (a reference to the colony of Roanoke) carved on their heads. Eventually, Mike finds out that Linoge is an anagram of the demon Legion and agrees to organize the townspeople so they can hear his demands.