It's the dead of night, and P.I. Thomas Black is dead asleep. What better time for a panicked phone call from a friend? The friend is Elmer Slezak, better known as Snake, a fellow gumshoe whose life has long since slipped into a dark mire of wine, women, and weirdness. Now, he's begging Black to take on a case that's one for The X-Files. There's a beautiful, exotic-looking woman dead in Snake's bed. He's not sure how she died, but he's certain about where she came from - outer space.