Set in modern day UK, the premise is that humanity, having had no contact with any alien species before, receives a radio message from approaching aliens ('the Ankor'). They warn Earth that a huge supernova blast is going to hit within two years and this will be an extinction level event. However, it can be averted. The Ankor are prepared to save humanity but every space faring nation will need to send a defined set of materials into orbit from which the Ankor will fashion a shield that will protect Earth from the incoming gamma ray blast. Humanity has no way of knowing whether the Ankor are telling the truth, but the alien technological superiority is undisputed, and humanity feel they have nothing to lose by cooperating...
Minor Spoiler (albeit, this is obvious after a few chapters) - the aliens have evil intentions and have recruited a human to support them from Earth, but they are also factionalised with two alien teams each having different approaches: one has a moral code that tries to minimise human suffering, the other is happy for humanity to pay any price

Sub-Plots / Tropes



Strong female lead - Sam is one of two protagonists who is disabled due to a car accident
Love interest - there is no sexual content in the book but there a love triangle, of which one member (Charlie) is in league with the alien power
Data privacy - the human villain has devised a way to collect enormous amounts of personal data from humans that the aliens use to their advantage
Transhumanism - the aliens have found a way to thoroughly integrated biological and technological components, they have enormously long lives and brain power beyond humanity's imagination
Simulation Theory - the aliens belief system is based around the concept that the whole of our universe is a computer programme running in a higher dimensional universe