Martha Mathewson, a professor of psychology, for years belittled her soon to be ex-husband, a revered astrophysicist, over his quiet passion for little green men and the civilizations they come from. When Don Mathewson suddenly dies, she finds out his files have been targeted, and she's in danger. Suddenly, her house is broken into. She has national security operatives on her tail. And to find out why, Martha must stretch herself into Don’s files and tapes, learning about his extensive relationship with extra-terrestrial civilizations and also the fact that for the past 70 years we've been lied to: we've had interstellar visitors. Martha is inexorably drawn into Don's world, a world which includes shadowy covert operatives. At the same time, she's moved to Tucson, Arizona, her daughter has come to live with her, and a small metal ball discovered in Don’s old oak desk (a ball which emits a bluish halo in the dark, dances to jazz, and communicates telepathically)