Alex Cuthberts lives in the village of Hoopledon. He is noticeably different from the other boys in the village and simply doesn't fit in. He is bullied by the thuggish Hooper brothers and disliked by the village natural born leader, Graham Mills. Even his parents give him a hard time. Alex frequently takes solace in Donkey Woods, studying insects, watching birds and usually finds a place to sit alone. It is during one of these solitary moments that a craft comes out of the sky and Alex encounters extra-terestrial life. They take him back to their planet where he finds happiness for the first time.  Alex returns to earth for a brief time before attempting to leave once again. However, this is not as simple as it sounds and creates a mystery which stretches over at least the next six and a half decades involving murder, execution and encounters of the close kind.