We live in a society of violence. We see it on the news, where casualties are reduced to death counts. We see it in politics, where wars are launched against drugs, disease, and immigrants. We even see it in our conversations, where our phones are frequently dead and we could kill are friends.

The village of Midwich blacks out. In the height of the Cold War, the military fear a Russian chemical weapon, but no evidence can be found. Then, with as little fuss as they slept, Midwich wakes. Every woman of child-bearing age is pregnant.