Shane Reid is a retired history professor who normally divides his time between Chicago Cubs baseball games and debunking reports of unidentified flying objects or close encounters of the third kind. This routine and his perspective on extraterrestrial life change dramatically when a respected ufologist asks him to assist in an investigation of five alleged alien artifacts. The ufologist's tragic death leaves Shane as the only person able to prevent the destruction of Earth by a mysterious miniature moon coming from nowhere. Fortuitously, Phoebe Brahman is drawn into Shane's quest because of her unique ability to solve puzzles and break secret codes. Using an ancient observatory, antediluvian technology, and hundred-year-old encryption techniques, this bookworm turned adventuress contacts an alien race for help only to discover their unexpectedly sinister intentions. The duo's efforts are imperiled by Drake Calder, the head of a clandestine government agency committed to keeping knowledge of aliens from the general public, and a malevolent religious cult that believes aliens are demons preparing the way for Satan to harvest the souls of mankind. Shane and Phoebe need a miracle.