The novel “Contact” by Carl Sagan was published for the first time in 1985. It won the Locus Award for Best First Novel.

Since she was a child, Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway showed an excellent aptitude for scientific subjects. Her father encouraged her but he died when she was still a child. Her mother remarried and her stepfather had much more conservative ideas about the role of a woman, resulting in a tense relationship between the two of them.

Despite the obstacles, Ellie earned a doctorate and started working in the field of radio astronomy. She ended up becoming the director of the Argus Project for the search for signals sent by extraterrestrial intelligences. A signal from the star Vega is detected showing clear indications of an artificial origin. The consequences are significant and include the problems brought by Christian preachers who try to make their vision prevail.