The Visitors is an introduction to a whole new world populated by highly advanced, benevolent AI (artificial intelligence) embodied in an actual artificial life-form who is named ūtū, and is a photonic energy being. His advanced programing allows him to pull energy from the air and environment around him. The story begins at the Earth's largest telescope currently being built atop Cerro Armazones (the ELT or Extremely Large Telescope) in the northern part of Chile, the driest part of the Atacama Desert. The primary alien species lives on a planet in the nearby Delta Pavonis System in The Swan Constellation, 19.75 light years from Earth. The star is aging, so it is prone to frequent coronal mass ejections or CMEs. The Lįnqü Ånū òt', a bird-like species, has formed an Alliance with other species in the system known as The Great Alliance of Ånū (Delta Pavonis).

This mighty Alliance has built three massive 'ark' ships, one of which is on its way to Earth. The ark is a world unto itself inside a rotating torus which creates artificial gravity. The Alliance is also the founding member of an overseer organization known as the Council of the Five Worlds. Another group discussed in the book is known as The Guardians have strong ties to four regions of the Earth where they visited in its ancient past: the Indus Valley Civilization, the Mesopotamian Civilization, the Nile Valley Civilizations and the Mesoamerican Civilizations. The writer, M. S. McKenzie, touches lightly upon these relationships in his book, which is part 1 in a series. There are also two underlying mysteries going on in the background, the disruptive influence of "the Greys" and the discovery an ancient alien artifact discovered by the Chinese on the Far Side of the Moon that dates back tens of millions of years.