A harrowing account of survival against incredible odds, this is the story of Jason Thorn, an unwanted 13-year-old who has been pulled from school and kept prisoner with his dog in the filth and squalor of his family basement. After a wicked storm hits his tiny hometown of Niobrara, Jason must draw upon the encouragement of unexpected friends and his own adept endurance skills—the result of situations most kids his age wouldn't be able to comprehend—to stave off an onslaught of floodwaters and devastation. Loosely based on a terrible true story of child abuse that played out in the media years ago, Jason's haunting story brings to light the continuing problem of "invisible" abuse cases and the extraordinary capabilities that people can acquire in the face of continued adversity and catastrophe.