In 1980s Washington state, USA, Mount St Helens is rumbling. Twelve-year-old Maribel isn't concerned at first, despite officials evacuating her neighbourhood. Her family is convinced it's just a precaution, even as the mountain continues to rumble. Maribel decides to disobey orders and return home for items she and her sister left behind - just as the volcano finally erupts. As ash rains down, Maribel realizes she must learn to focus if she's going to survive.

London schoolgirl Hettie hears the whispers and sees the worry creeping across her parents' faces. She watches as the windows in her home are blacked out. She helps her dad build a bomb shelter. She learns how to wear a gas mask. The German war machine, led by Adolf Hitler, is stomping its feet on Great Britain's doorstep, and Hettie knows only one thing for certain: When the bombs come, it will take all the courage she has to be brave and survive.

When her mother announces a holiday to Thailand, Tara isn't thrilled. She'd rather stay at home with her friends, but Mum is determined to use the girls' trip to explore their Thai heritage. Tara is reluctant to travel so far from home, especially to a country she doesn't feel connected to. But then disaster strikes. The day after Christmas, a massive tsunami sweeps through Phuket, Thailand. Tara's resort holiday suddenly becomes a fight to survive - and to find her mother in the wreckage.