Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, leaving 48 passengers alive and stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific. The survivors include a diverse group of people from different walks of life -- a doctor, an escaped fugitive, a con man, an Iraqi interrogator, a married Korean couple and a man formerly confined to a wheelchair who is now inexplicably healed. As the castaways attempt to get home, flashbacks (and forwards) illuminate their troubled lives before and after the crash, as the island they find themselves stranded on begins to slowly reveal its mysterious nature. Faith, reason, destiny and free will all clash as the island offers opportunities for both corruption and redemption... but as to its true purpose? That's the greatest mystery of all.

The survivors discovered that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, housing and hatches with electricity and hot & cold running water, a group of island residents known as "The Others," and a mysterious man named Jacob. They've found signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock, a downed Beechcraft plane from a failed drug run, the remains of an ancient, four-toed statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the Dharma Initiative -- a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past. The survivors also encountered a freighter stationed off the island that some thought would lead to their rescue, but ultimately almost caused their extinction. And Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and Claire's son, Aaron -- known as the Oceanic 6 - actually escaped the island and made their way back into the world. But their stay turned out to be short-lived since the island wasn't through with them, yet.