Loul Pell is a middle-class, midlevel government functionary, stranded in a dead-end job and resigned to the loss of his ambitious dreams. Meg Dupris is a traveler from a distant galaxy, haunted by tragedy and committed to a lifelong journey of discovery. Literally worlds apart, they are two unexpectedly kindred spirits, whose chance meeting will be the first step toward life-changing history: contact with an extraterrestrial race. Dispatched from...