A young man leaves Ireland with his landlord's daughter after some trouble with her father and they dream of owning land at the big give-away in Oklahoma ca. 1893. When they get to the new land, they find jobs and begin saving money. The man becomes a local bare-hands boxer and rides in glory until he is beaten, then his employers steal all the couple's money and they must fight off starvation in the winter and try to keep their dream of owning land alive. Meanwhile, the woman's parents find out where she has gone and have come to the U.S. to find her and take her back.

In New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina hits, a pregnant woman gives birth prematurely. She dies and her baby is in critical condition. The baby has to be kept in a neonatal incubator. When the hurricane strikes, all the power goes out and everyone in the hospital leaves. But the baby's father stays because the baby can't be moved so he has to take care of his baby by making sure the ventilator stays on. And because there's no power, the only power source is generator that he has to crank every few minutes. So he has to stay awake while waiting for someone to come for them.

When anti-death-penalty activist David Gale is convicted and condemned to death for the murder of a colleague, reporter Bitsey Bloom sets out to learn the story behind Gale's crime. What she finds challenges her belief in Gale's guilt and, finally, in the justice system.

A depiction of the brutal battle of Stalingrad, the Third Reich's 'high water mark', as seen through the eyes of German officer Hans von Witzland and his battalion.