Twelve-year-old Li'l T and his family face great losses caused by Hurricane Katrina, including leaving Buddy, their very special, three-legged dog, behind when they must evacuate.

The Strong family is having a reunion in New Orleans, and twelve-year-old Tristan is supposed to be keeping an eye on his younger cousin Terrance when several things happen at once: he sees his archenemy, King Cotton, and a mysterious girl grabs his magic cellphone--her name is Seraphine, and she seems to know everything about Tristan and the god Anansi (currently inhabiting the cellphone), and she has a mission for Tristan, one that is going lead...