Season of Strangers

Real estate agent Julie Ferris and sister Laura fall asleep on the beach and wake up with no recollection of the hours that passed. Julie suffers splitting headaches; Laura begins to dream about people coming after her. Only later do they entertain the possibility that they might have been abducted by aliens—which they were. Alien commander Val Zarkazian is on a mission to study Earth and needs data. Using the body of Julie’s handsome playboy boss Patrick Donovan, Val begins a complex pursuit of information, some of it quite intimtae. A subplot involving Donovan’s relationship with some gangsters is distracting, and the body switch is initially a little bit of a gross-out. Yet Martin surmounts all difficulties with old-fashioned romance. (June)