It is early summer of the year 1900. Young Dr. Douglas Schuler, who just graduated from the University of Texas Medical College in Galveston, decides to stay on as a hospital intern rather than return home to his family ranch in the Texas Hill Country. His close-knit German immigrant family needs his help back home. But it's an exciting era of modern medicine, and he has spent the past four years living in this glamorous coastal city.

He wrestles with life-and-death decisions on behalf of his patients, all under the intense scrutiny of the hospital faculty. Working day and night, he battles fatigue, loneliness and self-doubt. But he has fallen in love with Rosa, and he's determined to win her heart. Then, disaster strikes. A massive hurricane levels the city, killing thousands. The devastation is overwhelming, and Schuler's medical skills are more in demand than ever as he struggles to save the lives of fellow survivors. Contagious diseases run rampant, adding to the death toll and threatening the lives of the health care workers fighting to save the injured. And what of Rosa? Did she and her family survive? If he finds her, can he still hope to win her heart?

In this debut novel, Paul Remmers casts a story of hope, ambition, love, and hardship against the backdrop of one of the most devastating disasters in American history.