It is 2019. NASA astronaut Nigel Walmsley is sent on a mission to
intercept a rogue asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Ordered to
destroy it, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a
derelict space probe--a wreck with just enough power to emit a single
electronic signal.
In 2034, a reply is heard. Searching for the source of this signal,
which comes from outside the solar system, Nigel discovers the existence
of a sentient ship. When the new vessel begins to communicate directly
with him, the astronaut learns of the horrors that await humanity. For
the ship was created by an alien race that has spent billions and
billions of years searching for intelligent life... to annihilate it.