Three years ago, a spaceship landed in an open field in the quiet mill town of Sorrow Falls, Massachusetts. It never opened its doors, and for all that time, the townspeople have wondered why the ship landed there, and what--or who--could be inside.

Then one day a government operative--posing as a journalist--arrives in town, asking questions. He discovers sixteen-year-old Annie Collins, one of the ship's closest neighbors and a local fixture known throughout the town, who has some of the answers.

As a matter of fact, Annie Collins might be the most important person on the planet. She just doesn't know it.