A human-appearing alien, Norander Nelmack, crashes in the deep forest near a small, somewhat isolated town of Copperland in western Virginia. He camouflage's his damaged space craft, pinpoints the other crashed ship with his prisoner aboard and then hikes to the town to investigate and look for parts to fix his craft. He needs local currency so trades his gold for cash at the bank. when he leaves, he is mugged and dragged into a shed and threatened. He subdues the two thieves but one falls on his knife and dies. Later, he is arrested for murder since he is a new and unknown person. a lawyer hears the charges and gets Mack released. A deputy befriends him and she helps to prove his innocence. He must prove his innocence and keep the deputy out of harm's way.Two teenagers who are threatened by their parents are taken in by the woman deputy. She has also provided Mack with a room. The two adults protect the teens until they are eighteen in a few weeks. A kidnapping is revealed along with a murder and unusual steps are taken to find the perpetrator and the missing person. This involves using Mack's skills, and his ship, after revealing to Kia that he is not from earth, and the discovery of an abandoned secret government complex.