The first part of the novel takes place in a village near Exeter, where Laurie and his family work. Except for the recent landing of a tripod on the edge of Dartmoor, it is a relatively quiet place. Laurie and his friend, Andy, attend school where the physics teacher, "Wild Bill" Hockey, pokes fun at the supposed failure of the alien invasion.

The town soon begins to change as many of the inhabitants—including Mr. Hockey; Andy's mother, Miranda; and Laurie's half-sister, Angela—fall under the influence of "The Trippy Show," which brainwashes them into allegiance to the tripods. Ultimately, the Cordays flee to Guernsey where Laurie's grandmother has another house, only to discover that humans who have been "capped" control the village.

In the end, the family hijacks a plane to Geneva, Switzerland and travels to the mountain village of Fernohr, where Laurie's stepmother is...