The Martians are moving northwards, conquering Queen Victoria's Britain. The hideous alien beings, in their great tripod fighting machines, kill and destroy everything that stands in their path.
In the Victorian Fenlands, Colonel Blake has assembled a militia from his Cambridgeshire Yeomanry and forcefully conscripted civilian help where necessary.
Colonel Blake, of the Wake, oversees his bold ad-hoc engineering plan with help of a railway system that is operating on borrowed time. He must complete his plan before the giant tripod machines arrive and destroy the precious rail line.
Everything must be properly prepared. Quickly and as efficiently as possible. Once done, the Wake Men will confront the confounded Martians with a few surprises of their own.