Cory Lanus is a teen out of place. He doesn't fit it. He doesn't act right. There's something off about him--or so his friend Jaz Andrews believes. Jaz is a typical teenage girl with too much schoolwork, grief at home, and a huge crush on the new guy. To the chagrin of her friends, she spends as much time with him as she can, but she still can't get close enough. Surely Cory likes her as much as she likes him. Eventually Jaz discovers that Cory is an alien on the run from his family's enemies; he's also his home planet's only hope for survival. When someone from his home comes looking for him, Cory's new life on Earth is set for destruction because those he left behind have come to finish what they started and nothing, especially not his new friends, are going to stand in there way.