Warren Wolsey, an educator at a Border City high school, often invests his after-school hours with his students. Having so far spent an uneventful day, Wolsey has no reason to suspect that his planned outing will soon turn a weekend camping trip into a lengthy nightmare as he, his students and a chaperone are confronted by an extra-terrestrial invading force - the N'davalites. The group's survival will depend on quick thinking, stealth, relocation, and an unknown ally. The group takes up residence at an escarpment to the east. There, they learn to live simple lives, develop close relationships including alliances that might never have occurred elsewhere, and eventually discover that they are not alone. During their exile however, one thing remains paramount. If they continue to survive, they must somehow punish the invaders. But how? Can a weak and decimated human population arise from the dust and leap into the twenty-sixth century or beyond? Can their new friend, LX, be of assistance?