Victorian England is riding high. People are so prosperous and smug they imagine themselves the masters of the universe. Then the unthinkable happens: England is attacked by Martians! Panic erupts as the countryside goes up in flames. Is there no way to stop the ghastly, machinelike creatures and their deadly heat rays? -Back cover.

Coming of the Martians: Eve of the war; Falling star; Heat ray; Friday night; Fighting begins; What I saw of destruction; London -- Earth under the Martians: What we saw from the ruined house; Death of the curate; Stillness; Wreckage.