The show, adapted from Sheri Fink's documentary literature of the same name, tells the story of exhausted paramedics in a New Orleans hospital forced to make heartbreaking decisions after the storm. After Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, the New Orr Memorial Medical Center suffered from flooding, power outages and soaring temperatures, and medical workers were forced to make choices that would haunt them for years to come. In the end, there were 40 dead in the hospital, some of whom were considered unable to live, so euthanasia was arranged.