Barry's family is forced to shelter at home in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina when his sister falls ill, instead of evacuating like others in their Ninth Ward neighborhood. As the storm intensifies, the levees break and floodwaters rise rapidly, sweeping Barry from his home. Stranded alone in the floodwaters with only a stranded dog for company, Barry must summon his courage to survive the catastrophic storm. The audiobook recounts Barry's story of enduring Hurricane Katrina's destruction of New Orleans in 2005 as the largest natural disaster in U.S. history.