On May 18, 1980, eleven-year-old Jessie Marlowe and her best friends, Eddie and Sam, are in a forest near Mount St. Helens when the volcano erupts. All three are badly burned, but it is up to Jessie to protect the boys as best she can and hope that somebody comes to rescue them.

Traces the story of a boy who moves across the country to rural northern California, where his efforts to adjust are challenged by a fast-moving firestorm that places family homes and lives at risk.

Recounts the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 through the eyes of a young child who survived the horrible event that destroyed hundreds of homes and took the lives of 8,000 people.