On the evening of November 2, 1927, an unseasonably warm autumn in Vermont's Winooski River Valley gave way to a cold, relentless rain. Over the next forty-five hours, as many as nine inches fell across central Vermont, turning quiet rivers into destructive torrents. In the towns of Waterbury, Barre, and Montpelier and beyond, bridges collapsed, homes were swept from their foundations, and entire neighborhoods disappeared beneath rising water and mud. Eighty-four people lost their lives in what would become known as the Great Flood of 1927, the deadliest natural disaster in the state's history.

Drawing on firsthand accounts, newspaper reports, and on-the-ground research, author Jane Parks Gardner follows the storm as it unfolded and the people caught in its path, including families forced onto rooftops and makeshift rafts, passengers stranded on isolated trains, and neighbors risking their lives to rescue one another. Centered in the Winooski River basin but spanning communities across Vermont, the narrative traces the disaster from the first rains through the long days of rescue and recovery. Both harrowing and deeply human, this is a story not only of loss, but of resilience, cooperation, and a state forever changed.