A signal originating in the outer solar system arrives at an S.E.T.I. site. No spacecraft from Earth appears to be transmitting the signal. Is it a hoax, or is it a true extraterrestrial contact? These questions and attempts to answer them arouse the world's attention. With the media and Congress clamoring for answers, a NASA operations manager forms a team of investigators to discover its true nature, while some in the government, convinced it's a hoax, seek to find those responsible. Meanwhile, the signal continues on and gains in complexity, confounding everyone in the media and everyone investigating.