A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.
Beginning with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, journalist Steve Coll chronicles the events that took place in the lead-up to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, including missed signals, failed operations and political turf wars.