Victoria and Veronica live with their aunt and uncle in a fourth-floor walk-up located on the West Side of Cargo City. After a terrible storm blows in, the sisters find themselves trying to survive after a harrowing encounter that begins with their separation from their uncle. Their ordeal takes them into the urban center after they find a friend; once there they find so much more. Set in a fictional town located in the rust belt of the United States, "Adventures in Cargo City" is a story that puts together a number of familiar elements about big city life in America: poverty, friendship, discord, family, struggle, and hope.