Welcome to Peculiar, MO. For most, life is good in this idyllic Midwestern town, until a falling star brings an unearthly menace. Soon animals are found dying of a mysterious disease. At night, beasts begin to cry out in voices that sound almost like words, as they are drawn to a burned clearing to serve an alien will. Local widow Kelly Ross, who is struggling to make ends meet after the death of her husband, sends her young son into the forest on an errand, where he makes a frightening discovery. Spencer Dale, the town's mechanic, whose past contains a painful secret, begins to experience strange dreams and visions, as he relives memories that are not his own. Nine-year-old Rachel, a child of nature, becomes linked to an unspeakable crime that took place more than eighty years in the past, while a military operation moving inexorably towards the meteor's impact site makes its presence, and its plans, known. All of their lives are linked together, and their courage and faith are tested, as they are drawn to the site where the star fell to Earth and an alien life cycle reaches its terrifying climax.

Descendants of three couples: Luke Dillon of Kilkearney, Ireland (fl. 18th c.) who married Susan Garrett; George Hodgson (b. 1701) who married Mary Thatcher; and Daniel Fisher (fl. 18th c.) (spouse unknown). These families and their descendants lived in North Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, and elsewhere.