Character Relationship Map: Prey

Characters

• Tom Newman (played by Peter Weller) — protagonist

  A hydro-electrical engineer and the father of Jessica and David. Tom travels with his family to South Africa for dam construction and leads the search after they disappear. With Crawford's help, he re...

• Crawford (played by Jamie Bartlett) — supporting

  A professional hunter and guide hired by Tom to locate the missing family. Crawford joins the park rangers' search, tracks the area with Tom, and reaches the stranded group. He saves Tom by shooting a...

• Brian (played by Marius Roberts) — supporting

  A ranger who takes Amy, Jessica, and David on a game drive. During a bathroom break, Brian encounters a pride of lions with David and is killed, leaving the vehicle without its driver and without the...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Crawford → Brian (Professional Ranger And Hunter Contrast) — Both are professionals connected to wilderness navigation, but they serve different stages of the rescue effort.

  Brian is identified as a ranger leading the game drive, while Crawford is identified as a professional hunter and guide brought in for the later searc...

• Tom Newman → Crawford (Professional Employer And Guide) — Tom employs Crawford for his expertise in locating the missing family.

  After learning that his family is missing, Tom hires Crawford, described as a professional hunter and guide, to assist with the search.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Tom Newman → Brian (Narrative Search Motivation) — Brian's death forms part of the emergency that drives Tom's rescue effort.

  Tom is informed that his family's guide Brian has been killed after encountering a pride of lions, intensifying Tom's decision to organize the search.

Story Analysis

A family survival story in which a rescue search becomes a desperate struggle against lions and the African wilderness.

Plot Progression

1. A Vacation Turns Fatal — Tom brings his family to a South African resort while hoping to ease tensions within the family. A game drive becomes a deadly trap when Brian encounters a pride of lions and the vehicle is left stran...
2. Lost Beyond the Search — Tom learns that his family has disappeared and hires Crawford to help find them. The stranded group retrieves the vehicle keys, wrecks the vehicle, and remains unseen by an overhead search.
3. Water, Hunters, and Lions — The stranded group encounters two native hunters and searches for water at a nearby watering hole. A gunshot separates the hunters, while Tom and Crawford struggle to follow a trail erased by rain.
4. The Family's Last Stand — A conversation produces a fragile reconciliation before a lion kills the remaining hunter through the weakened windshield. Tom and Crawford finally reach the vehicle, but the rescue attempt costs Craw...
5. Fire Against the Pride — Tom uses the vehicle's fuel tank and a cloth fuse to create a trap for the male lion. The explosion kills the lion, and the surviving family walks back toward Crawford's car.