Jack Olsen is a dull but conscientious worker, a reporter for the New York Times, just after the melting of the polar ice caps. In 2030, Jack answers a message on his computer from Alyadille, who says it is writing from the fifth planet orbiting the star Eta Boötes. This answer is the start of Jack's great adventures. He finds love and professional rewards as he researches the information Alyadille asks for and uses information it sends. Other members of his family, including his outspoken and brilliant sister Elizabeth, get involved with Alyadille and its problems, and Jack himself becomes a Principal Investigator in a project to validate a scientific paper sent by the Senior Scientist on V Eta Boötes. Is this entity real or is he just a "kook in Omaha" playing a joke on America's most distinguished academic researchers? Jack spends many years not knowing the truth, but between 2030 and 2048 he assumes the entity exists and needs his help to save its old and scientifically advanced civilization. Then, in 2048, the visitors from V Eta Boötes arrive in America.