An anti-science-fiction novel from the author of the HATER and AUTUMN books. Stephen Hawking said, "If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans." A world brought up on stories of alien invasions and wars with other planets is asked to open its arms to 300 aliens who are stranded in their crippled mining ship. The eyes of the entire world are focused on the village of Thatcham: the site of the first confirmed contact with an alien species. Their arrival affects everyone. Barriers are broken down, perspectives are altered, and the life of every single person on the planet is changed forever as science fiction becomes science fact. But not everyone is convinced. Some people are more cautious. Tom Winter knows that if he's right about the aliens, more than seven billion others are wrong.