A sci-fi thriller of humanity's first contact with aliens—and the global cover-up it sparks—from the New York Times–bestselling author of Mars.

Ex-astronaut turned physicist Keith Stoner knows that the signals he's picking up at his space station are anything but random. The fiery object heading toward Earth is an alien spacecraft. Yet the world may never know, for Keith is trapped in an iron cordon of secrecy: His discovery has shattered the world power balance, setting off a brutal struggle for supremacy that rages within the sacred halls of the Vatican to the corridors of the Kremlin and the Pentagon. The powers that be will use anything at their command—fear and treachery and any other weapon from mind war to sabotage to keep the world in darkness about Stoner's discovery.

With the aid of a brilliant Soviet linguist and a lovely young student, Stoner plans a desperate mission, a wild, heart-stopping gamble to preserve the legacy of the star voyager for all mankind.

"Fast and exciting and keeps you turning the pages all the way. Mysterious and awe inspiring." —Science Fiction Review