The White Mountains is the first in a trilogy of novels, known as The Tripods, which follows Will’s efforts to escape, resist, and eventually overcome the Tripods’ domination of humanity. As the first book in the series, The White Mountains introduces the major themes, characters, and concepts of the trilogy, although some key revelations are reserved for the later entries in the series.

The first book follows Will, Henry, and Beanpole’s efforts to reach the White Mountains (the Alps), where a community that resists the Tripods’ domination lives in hiding. The second book, The City of Gold and Lead, picks up where the first leaves off, with Will infiltrating one of the Tripods’ cities. As he does so, he gains valuable information about the Masters, the species of extra-terrestrial beings who build and pilot the Tripods. In the third and final volume, The Pool of Fire, Will and various companions capture one of the Masters and use the information they gather from him to carry out attacks on the Masters’ three cities, eventually defeating them entirely. In the aftermath of the Masters’ defeat, delegations from various countries meet to plan a way forward for humanity, though it remains to be seen whether the world will successfully unify.