Charlie Watson discovers and repairs an old Volkswagen Beetle as a way to remember her father and stake her independence from a stepfather she abhors, with only the music of The Smiths and the unrequited crush of the boy-next-door for friends. When she discovers the VW Bug is actually an alien robot on a reconnaissance mission for the rest of his race, the two form a bond which eventually has her putting her life on the line against evil alien robots,...

An astronomer discovers a signal from another planet and is chosen to go into space on a new spaceship and find its source.