Roxie McCovin grew up in New Orleans and worked as a waitress. In 1989, she moved to New York City, where she started working as a hotel concierge. After hearing from her sister Tina and father Robert, Roxie flies from New York to Lafayette, La., to meet her brother Rendell, who evacuated New Orleans before the storm. Together they mount a rescue plan, and controlling their fear, they talk their way past the authorities all the way to the Convention Center. Armed with the knowledge their father gained from the local radio station (WWL) that "the River Road is high and dry," they manage to find and rescue all of their family members and drive out of New Orleans.

Since the Hurricane: Roxie is living on the West Side of Manhattan. She recently left her job as a hotel concierge to set up her own business, New York Creative Concierge Services, based in Soho. Roxie keeps in close contact with her family and the resilience of her parents remains the biggest inspiration in her life. She is also the official "family organizer." Rendell managed to sell his old house in New Orleans and has now moved to Baldwin, La., with his fiancée and two children. Rendell runs an electronics store.