When the First Call from the Stars Comes, Do We Even Dare to Answer? Life changes for everyone in general—and for physicist Dean Matthews in particular—when astronomers detect a radio signal from a nearby star. First Contact forces humanity to face hard questions, and do it fast. Every answer spawns new questions. Every solution sets in motion a new and more daunting crisis to challenge Dean, his family—and an expanding number of interstellar civilizations—for generations to come.