In Close Encounters, seven Words created the universe, but misused The Words can destroy everything. Each Word lets its Speaker rewrite a physical law in the area near them - for four hours. During that time, guardian monks from China quest to locate and kill the Speaker whose ignorance might unmake the earth. Eric must escape the assassin hunting him, recover his car, and help Mary and Walt. Previously, Eric Rock, a bookstore clerk in Portland, Oregon, learned the power word AmJukJa from his grandmother and it erased gravity around him. While weightless, he tried to help Gran by 'borrowing' Logan Castro's drug money to save her house. Instead, Logan thinks he's been robbed by his partner, Garth, the bookstore owner. Walt Herrera, Eric's buddy, helps launder Logan's money. At Gran's urging, Eric goes to San Francisco to lead the monks away from Portland. Eric buys a car in San Francisco to do his part converting the 'borrowed' money, but the car is towed. Eric finds an unexpected new friend in waitress Mary Jepson. Unfortunately, Jian Zhou, an assassin monk, finds him.