And if they find us?

But what is 3 Body Problem actually about ? Is it just hard science for geniuses, or is it a character drama wrapped in cosmic horror?

Decades later, in present day, top scientists around the world start dying by suicide. A mysterious countdown appears in their retinas. A quantum physics experiment yields impossible results (particles are literally moving in ways that break our understanding of reality).

We won't see them coming until our physics breaks and the countdown hits zero.

The aliens—the San-Ti (Tri-solarans)—live in a chaotic solar system with three suns. Their planet is subject to random, apocalyptic "Chaotic Eras" where they are burned or frozen alive. They are desperate to leave. Earth is their paradise.

The suns move unpredictably. Sometimes they rise all at once and scorch the planet. Sometimes they all set and freeze it. The humanoid inhabitants "dehydrate" into flat sheets of paper to survive the chaos.