Essence LaFontaine and Grace Woodson don't know each other, but soon Hurricane Katrina will blow into their lives, forcing them together into a different kind of storm--a storm swirling with the winds of bigotry and prejudice. The hurricane strikes with a fury and although sisters Essence and Chardonnai are rescued, their grandmother Mimmi stays behind with their skinny poodle, George. After terrifying hours in the Superdome they board a bus for the Houston Astrodome along with other victims of Hurricane Katrina, including a man named Harold, who Essence strongly suspects is her long-lost father.After Grace is suspended from St. Catherine's for her disobedient behavior, she accompanies her father, a psychologist, to the Astrodome to help with the evacuees. She sees before her the lessons of her required reading, To Kill a Mockingbird, and at a loss as to what to do, she begins to read the book aloud to a tattered group including Essence and her new family of fellow survivors.With the city of New Orleans devastated, the Woodson family allows Essence and Chardonnai to live with them and both girls begin school at St. Catherine's. But, like a hurricane, trouble is brewing.Grace's best friend Lindsey and other students at St. Catherine's aren't very fond of the LaFontaine sisters, refusing to accept them, and the gifts Grace has been leaving in Essence's locker, much like those given to Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, are replaced by a KKK poster from an unknown student. At the same time, a movement is underway to have the book banned from the school's curriculum.After Essence and Chardonnai leave town with Harold and his friends, their whereabouts unknown to the girls' mother as well as the Woodson family, Grace becomes more determined than ever to bring the powerful message of the classic story to St. Catherine's students, their parents and members of the board. The story of two girls from completely different walks of life and their journey to bring about a healing that will change their lives forever.