The story begins when Lara embarks on her first expedition aboard the Endurance with the intention of finding the lost kingdom of Yamatai. In a storm, the ship is cut in half and threatens to be wrecked. Lara Croft gets on board, but fails to hold on to a group of her friends and falls into the sea. When she reaches the beach of the island, an unknown person knocks her out. Lara subsequently wakes up in an underground shrine where the locals worship a goddess Himiko. When Lara manages to break free from prison, she tries to find her friends. Later, Lara does meet her friend Sam, but she is taken by the islander Mathias to an unknown location. When Lara manages to track down the rest of the group, a manhunt is launched for Sam, during which the group of friends is split up. Lara and Dr. Whitman are kidnapped by unknown Russians and Lara must once again manage to escape. Gradually, she unravels the complex life on the island and discovers who the mythical goddess Himiko is and why there is no way off the island. However, after destroying Himiko and saving Sam, the story ends on an open ended note with Lara's decision not to return home.
