Luke Millward hasn't spoken to his father, Charlie, for nearly four years. Their last contact came when Luke's dad, a long-suffering musicain and alcoholic, was living in New Orleans. Luke offered his father what he pledged was his last handout: $500. His father tearfully promised not to call again.

That last conversation played in Luke's mind for weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Perhaps more out of curiousity than fear, Luke leaves to discover whether his father survived the disaster. In the process, he meets Bela, a young women who waited tables at the restaurant where Charlie played three nights a week. Bela agress to accompany Luke as he searches for his father, and a romantic interest develops. Together, they follow Charlie's trail and learn about the man Charles Millward had become particularly on the night Katrine hit.

Luke was sure he knew the song his dad's life would end with. What he discovers is that every life has a second verse.