A “typical Sunday afternoon” is disrupted as a tornado tears through Joplin, Missouri, destroying everything in its path (1). Eleven-year-old Dexter (Dex) James is in an SUV when the tornado finds him, smashing a window and engulfing him. Dex’s desire “to see a tornado for real” has been realized, and he understands “there could be no escape” (3).

Dex is riding his bicycle through his neighborhood, his dog, Zeke, at his heels. Stephanie and Bobbie Tucker, the twin daughters of his neighbors, ask him to buy lemonade from their stand, and he cannot refuse. His parents, both math teachers at the local high school, grew up with the girls’ parents. Mr. Tucker emerges from their house with two suitcases, explaining that the family is going out of town for a few days. He asks how Dex’s 20-year-old brother and best friend Jeremy, a US Navy Seal, is doing.

Thinking about Jeremy upsets Dex. Initially, Dex’s pride in his brother overrode any concerns for his brother’s safety. Neighbors called Jeremy a hero, and Dex’s classmates wanted to hear everything about him, even Dylan, Dex’s former best friend. The two had grown apart as they got older, but now Dylan and his new friends are eager to hear stories about Jeremy.