This is a first contact book with so, so much going on. Could you keep your faith if God took everyone you loved? What does morality mean in an alien society? And can the ending really be as dark as the foreshadowing suggests it will be?
A radio astronomer discovers a signal coming from Alpha Centauri - strange, beautiful alien voices, singing. While the rest of the world is transfixed by the broadcast, a catholic order, the Jesuits, take action and launch a mission to the planet of Rakhat. But from the outset we know the mission is doomed to tragedy, because a second storyline follows Emilio Sandoz after his return to Earth. The only survivor of the mission, he struggles to heal his wounds and to reconcile his faith with the deaths of his friends, and prepare to tell the world the truth of what happened on Rakhat.
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