Maria Persson had been awarded a travelling fellowship. The lively widow of 76 is on the last lap of a speaking tour when her visit to California coincides with the arrival of an exhibit at the Los Angeles Science Center. It is a strange spindle-like satellite, which had been lurking in space some time around the visit of the Apophis asteroid. In 2029, the internet is jammed with disinformation, government-generated in many cases, and most are in denial that the Spindle is extraterrestrial in origin. Maria and her friend, the satellite expert Bill Doty, become intimately involved in the visitation in a way neither could have foreseen.