When Alaina Chalmers books a Moroccan vacation with her brother Riley, she hopes the exotic adventure will get their lives back on track. After the loss of their parents in a car accident, Riley has blamed himself even though he wasn't at fault. He has lost almost everything in his downward spiral and Alaina is determined not to lose him too. When he doesn't show up for the weekend she booked in the High Atlas mountains, Alaina boards a local bus to Marrakech to find him. Hot, dusty and miserable, the bus chugs and weaves down the mountain road. She's looking forward to checking in at the Mamounia Hotel as soon as they reach the city - the same hotel where their parents stayed years before on their honeymoon. Once Riley turns up all will be well.
The planet Earth holds no interest at all for Aylonian chemical engineer Quork. He agreed to a fly-by at the insistence of a colleague because his own mission places him closer to Earth than any other ship currently off planet. After some simple data collection he'll go back to Aylon where he's scheduled to achieve his Second Rank promotion a full year ahead of schedule. When his on-board AI system alerts him to an all-systems failure and imminent crash-landing he's certain the warnings are wrong. He's never had trouble in ten years of piloting this same ship. AI pre-flight inspections are infallible. With only seconds to decide how, he must make a forced landing or crash into the mountain in front of him.
Alaina wakes up on the floor in a dark room. Where did everybody from the bus go? Did they leave her in this place alone - and what is this place? A clinic? Why does the doctor look like a character out of a video game?
Quork watches the female he brought on board after the crash. She seems disoriented but her injuries are minimal so he can let her go now that she's awake. His only concern is whether or not she is prone to violence. Homo sapiens has a reputation for violence and chaos. However, this specimen seems more intelligent than expected. She figures out how to operate the hydration station. She manages to communicate. She informs him of her need for a phone to contact a brother. He has no idea of what a phone is, but he's relieved someone else will take responsibility for her well-being. His problems are bigger than hers and he doesn't have time to figure out how to access a phone.
This guy with the blue hair annoys her to no end. Why can't he answer the simplest questions? Or understand that she needs to find a phone? Who on this earth doesn't know what a phone is? When he threatens to throw her outside alone in the dark she has to stand up to him. She doesn't know how to find Marrakech and without a phone or cash she isn't going far. That becomes certain when she discovers that a UFO caused the bus to crash. She's a captive and Quork is an alien; a snobby, naive alien who doesn't have any idea of what will happen to them if they are caught.
Allowing Alaina to stay on board is easier than trying to get rid of her. She believes they are in danger and he needs her help. What he really needs is fuel so he can get off this miserable planet where he never wanted to be and go home. But the more time they spend together his ideas and beliefs about Earth and Homo sapiens take a radical turn. He begins to rethink everything he has believed about Aylon and his own people too.
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