“The Earth will be conquered, and humanity enslaved.” This is the warning delivered to Will Ryder by the alien spaceship that crash-landed in his backyard. But there is hope. With the ship's AI guiding him, Will must rebuild the craft in his barn and take to the stars to prevent the cataclysmic invasion. Time is running out, money and materials are low, and the government is suspicious. Will’s destiny is across the galaxy, but getting off Earth alive may be his biggest challenge.

Will Ryder and Francine, the AI powering his homemade spacecraft, have taken to the stars, the first step on their quest to save the Earth from alien invasion. They have to travel across the Milky Way to reach Francine’s homeworld, a route fraught with danger and adventure for even a cutting edge ship, but Will and Francine’s ship is cobbled together in a rush with Earth materials, and it won’t make the journey without significant upgrades. Will is in over his head and out of his depth, but he was chosen to be Earth’s savior and will fight to overcome any obstacle to his mission.