Set almost a full century after the inaugural season of AMC’s The Terror, which infused Captain Sir John Franklin’s historic lost expedition to the Arctic in 1845-1848 with horror and dread, new season The Terror: Infamy seeks to heighten the horrors of World War II. More specifically, the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. A grim moment in history made even more horrific by the addition of something supernatural and deadly haunting the Japanese-American community.

The Terror: Infamy begins in 1941, where it introduces the core characters currently inhabiting Terminal Island, a largely man-made island in Los Angeles. At that time, it was home to a Japanese-American community of around 3,500, in an area known as East San Pedro, or Fish Island. Their way of life changed dramatically on December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service causing mass casualties, over a thousand injuries, and many battleships lost. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on the Empire of Japan.

As for the Japanese-American citizens of Terminal Island, all of the adult males were incarcerated by the FBI on February 9, 1942. Executive Order 9066 signed by the president on February 19 resulted in 112,000 men, women, and children being evicted from their homes on the West Coast and sent to internment camps across the country. Including the community on Terminal Island.

For the key players of The Terror: Infamy, a mysterious evil takes root in their neighborhood before the attack on Pearl Harbor shattered their way of life. They face daily discrimination and racially motivated fears from the living, and being hunted by something supernatural or undead from within. Who are they?

Chester Nakayama (Derek Mio) – The lead protagonist, Chester is an ambitious 22-year-old with dreams of becoming a photographer for Life magazine. Caught between his familial obligations and his desire to leave the island, Chester’s life is changed dramatically in the first episode and it permanently alters his course.

Luz Ojeda (Cristina Rodio) – A Mexican American who attends Los Angeles Community College as a nursing student, where she met Chester. She lives with her brother and widowed father, who wants her to be a nun. Her friendship with Chester is an act of rebellion, but it profoundly changes her life as well.

Henry Nakayama (Shingo Usami) – Chester’s father, a fisherman by trade. He came to America to provide a better life for his family and suffered hardships along the way. He’s also one of the few in his community to own a car.

Asako Nakayama (Naoko Mori) – Chester’s mother, married to Henry by way of arranged marriage. She’s deeply traditional and superstitious, but is often the glue that holds the family together during tense times.

Nobuhiro Yamato (George Takei) – The community’s 80-year-old elder statesman. Nobuhiro was one of the first Japanese-Americans to move to the island as a fisherman, and holds stories and memories of old traditions that may prove vital to aiding his friends against the mysterious evil lurking within the community.

Amy (Miki Ishikawa) – The daughter of the Yoshidas, the close family friends of the Nakayamas. Like Chester, she relates more as American than Japanese, but she’ll find this tested as the injustices pile up.

Yuko Tanabe (Kiki Sukezane) – A mysterious woman that Chester first meets in a brothel. Not much is known about Yuko, but she might hold the key to unlocking the strange events.

The grim history of WWII and Japanese supernatural horror collide in The Terror: Infamy, which premieres tonight on AMC.