Originally published in 1971 under the title A Man Alone, the book first appeared as a companion volume to Hostage in Peking, Anthony Grey's account of his experience as a prisoner of Mao Tse-tung's Red Guards, which became a bestseller in seven countries.

New material has been added to this re-titled edition and in a new Preface the author says : 'Rebirthing these stories now in the year 2003 allows me to clarify the insights I gained in China. In particular they concern the place of our planet in relation to the rest of the known universe and ultimately our connection to other extra-terrestrial races that I submit are secretly and widely known to exist'.