The story of four boyhood friends in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward who return after Hurricane Katrina to find their homes decimated, with no jobs, and no help from FEMA. Out of options, they reluctantly turn to a local gangster, who offers them one shot at turning their situations around, by pulling off a dangerous heist in the heart of the city.

Recounts the events of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it caused in New Orleans, discusses the global efforts to help the victims, and describes the rebuilding efforts.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana... The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage -- and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality. Don Brown's kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters...

When the mysterious first aid kit takes golden retriever Ranger to New Orleans shortly before Hurricane Katrina hits, he finds himself helping Clare Porter and her grandmother, who are waiting for Clare's father at their home in the Lower Ninth Ward--and when the levees break and Clare is separated from Nana, Ranger must somehow get her to the relative safety of the Superdome, and reunite her with her family.

Four acts document distinct perspectives on the pivotal events that preceded and followed Katrina's passage through New Orleans, a catastrophe during which the divide between race and class lines has never been more pronounced.