No one knows what it's like to be ignored by the aliens more than Craig Mencken, an amateur journalist who writes inane copy for a magazine tycoon. A pair of aliens have invaded his home, abused his furniture, and disrupted his life. Who thought first contact could be such a nuisance? But when Mencken's employer demands the story of the century, a fictional interview with an alien, the sinister truth about the invasion is accidentally revealed. Soon Mencken's ex-boyfriend is dropping hints about a mysterious cabal that promises to rid the aliens from neighborhoods like exterminators do with vermin. Then a narcissistic federal agent wants Mencken to spy on the cabal for the sake of his country. As if life weren't already hard enough, the ''dozers''--cubic machines capable of demolishing skyscrapers in minutes--start landing across the globe, and it does not seem likely the aliens will ignore mankind for much longer.