When high-level governmental programmer Sam Steele is called into his office on his day off, he quickly finds himself at the center of a battle for humanity itself. An alien entity is heading straight for Earth, and an elite team of specialists has been assembled to attempt to make first contact. But despite Steele’s expertise, Colonel Eric Web, his superior and longtime thorn in his side, makes it clear he doesn’t want him there.

The aliens that arrive represent a long-dead race and say they’ve come to help humans defend themselves against an imminent threat, but their help will come with a price. Now the future of humanity hangs in the balance between two men: Web, the regimented, hubristic military man, and Steele, a brilliant man broken by loss and tragedy.

As the team races the clock to try to divine their visitors’ complex instructions, they struggle with infighting and, ultimately, the question of what it means to be human.