Did civilization on earth result from contact with inhabitants of a planet in the Sirius star system prior to 3,000 B.C.? To answer this question, Robert Temple traces the traditions of four African tribes back 5,000 years to the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Sumer and Egypt. He shows that these cultures possessed great knowledge, much of which they claimed was given them by visitors from Sirius. There are tribal cultures in present-day Africa (notably the Dogon of Mali) whose most sacred traditions are based on this theory; their knowledge of the Sirius system is astounding in its accuracy and detail, including information only recently known to modern science.

Many authors have speculated on the subject of extraterrestrial contact, but never before has such a detailed theory been formulated. The Sirius Mystery provides facts gathered during eight years of research.