Oyster fisherman Ioan Mioc in the small village of Buras returns back 21 days after the hurricane Katrina. He finds his house, as so many others, destroyed and partially submerged in mud and contaminated waters. Ioan emigrated from Romania 22 years ago and has ever since lived in Buras. He built his house himself and is positive about rebuilding it but worries about the contamination. Regarding his work as an oyster fisherman it's worse since he thinks it's going to take years before he can go back to do that. He finds his wife's ceramic dog and brings it to her. They are now temporarily living with Ioan's mother-in-law.
Devastation is still evident, with villages and towns flooded with contaminated water from the oil industries. Local residents and officials blame a ruptured Shell pipeline for spreading oil through marshes and communities down river from New Orleans.