Duane McGuane, ex-journalist and owner of an art house movie theater in Uptown New Orleans, has a vision to produce his own film, “The Southern Guide to Self Improvement.” All is interrupted by Hurricane Katrina.
He and several friends survive the horror of the hit. But then, like thousands of others, they have to leave to live. In their case, via an abandoned church van. Awaiting them is an odyssey–thanks to a revolutionary gun smuggler friend–all the way to a deserted ranch in the Big Bend of Texas. Where Duane believes they can make the film.
Their flight takes them through nearby bayou towns, Cajun country, the racist fringes of Western Louisiana and East Texas, and a long ride along the Rio Grande. Surprises and dangers await–spiritual and transformative. Some never return to New Orleans. Others are pulled home by the Big Easy, as is its way, as is life in the time of hurricanes.
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