Alien miners traveling thousands of light years through space in search of colored diamonds discover the rare stones on earth at the bottom of the East China Sea. The aliens are discovered using a new sensor able to detect perturbations in the streams of neutrinos constantly passing through the planet. But the earthling's ability to stop the marauders appears to be as futile as honeybees attempting to protect the hive from a bear. The government seeks help from an international thief and a cadre of psychic spies. Hope of stopping the plunder may rest with an overlooked discovery of a new source of antimatter.