Two cousins, Will and Henry Parker, resist the capping process. Under the guidance of a man named Ozymandias, they flee their homes in search of other free humans who are hiding in the White Mountains.
In the year 2089, an alien race stalks the land in towering machines known as Tripods. They have taken over the earth and enslaved mankind with a mind-controlling device, ceremoniously implanted at adolescence. Will Parker, desperate to escape this ritual, leaves the village with his cousin, Henry and attempts to link up with the human resistance movement.
