August 2005, Mississippi Delta: Hurricane Katrina is imminent. Zola, a retired schoolteacher, lives alone with her dog, Lady. Zola's seen her share of hurricanes. No way is she about to flee before Katrina. Anyhow, it’s been ten years since she felt fear. Ever since Caryl, her only son, died of cancer. Before his death, he’d left her Lady, only a pup then. Outside, the storm is raging; the waters are rising. Zola and Lady take refuge upstairs. In the morning, corpses float by out the windows. Zola and Lady are trapped. Finally, the rescue team comes. They have to leave – now! But there's no room for a dog in the boat, so Zola refuses to be evacuated. She won’t abandon Lady.