Beth Lew-Williams shows how American immigration policies incited violence against Chinese workers, and how that violence provoked new exclusionary policies. Locating the origins of the modern American "alien" in this violent era, she makes clear that the present resurgence of xenophobia builds mightily upon past fears of the "heathen Chinaman."

In the fall of 1950, the United States entered into a conflict with aliens from an unknown world. This conflict was fought in the shadows, nobody wanting its existence to become public knowledge. At stake was the very future of humanity and its freedom from off-planet domination. Harry Edgarton, a veteran of the Second World War, finds himself returning to his wartime duties as an Intelligence and Special Operations officer. He stumbles into alien activity and seeks out those already involved in the conflict to join their ranks. Putting together a team of military personnel, aided by the best scientists America has, Harry starts to investigate sightings of aflying saucers,a trying to determine what they want and how to stop them. Along the way, he must face human Quislings who have sold out humanity for a higher place in the new order to come, unimaginative law enforcement and military officials that obstruct his mission through incompetence, and the very flaws of American society and humanity itself. Can Harry and his team, aDetachment Jericho,a divine the enemyas plans in time to make a difference? Can they steal enough alien technology to give America and her allies the weapons to keep the war from being a lopsided fiasco? Will American society as it is survive and prosper?