The year is 1897, except for one thing: warfare is fought in large steam-powered fighting machines called "steam rigs", manned by crews, designed to look like ancient armored warriors. It's a classic underdog tale; three "regular guy" steam crewmen, Tunney, Duff and Cribbs, reckless, brazen-lacking common sense, but not courage-manage to come through by entirely unorthodox means. Steam Wars is blue-collar sci fi, down and dirty grittiness, contrasted with Victorian elegance.