In November of 1896 residents of California watched a mysterious bright light - often described as suspended beneath a "cigar shaped" craft of considerable size - pass slowly over their cities on several occasions. This sparked a media frenzy, particularly as what appeared to be the same craft was seen over the Midwest and witnessed by 100s if not 1000s of people. Then the reports abruptly ended. There were several theories about it. Each theory is examined in the book before J. Allan Danelek finally presents his provocative theory that the mysterious vessel was a terrestrial craft years ahead of its time that may have been destroyed just as it was on the verge of being publicly acknowledged.