In a discursive interview, a man depicts his family's self-sufficient lifestyle in Kapaa, Kauai. Also covered are his experiences in Honolulu, including witnessing an accident during air maneuvers. He recounts the events of the 1957 tsunami on Kauai, including anecdotes about his brother-in-law's survival and his gathering of fish washed ashore by the waves.

John Vegas, Puerto Rican, the sixth of fifteen children, was born on November 30, 1912, in North Kohala, Hawaii.  His parents immigrated to North Kohala from Puerto Rico in 1901.  Antone Vegas, John's father,worked as a laborer at Kohala's Union Mill Plantation.  In 1924, the family moved to Honolulu where Antone Vegas worked as a track layer for Honolulu Rapid Transit (HRT).

Josephine Nelson Todd was born November 9, 1906 in Pepe'ekeo, Hawai'i. She was the seventh of eleven children born to Hans Peter Nelson, an immigrant from Denmark, and Mary Morgado Nelson, an immigrant from Portugal. Hans Peter Nelson was an employee for Pepe'ekeo Sugar Company. When Todd was a young girl, the family moved to Hilo. She grew up in the Villa Franca section of Hilo, an area populated predominantly by Portuguese. Portuguese was Todd's flrst language.

June Mitsuko Odachi Shigemasa was born September 27, 1935 in the Shinmachi district of Hilo, Hawai'i. Her parents, Kinzaemon Odachi and Kameki Tsuno Odachi, were immigrants from Japan who came to Hawai'i as Tenri-kyo [a Buddhist sect] ministers. Shigemasa, her parents, and siblings lived in a two-story house on the temple grounds. She was attending nearby Waiakea Kai School when World War II broke out. Following the Pearl Harbor attack, Kinzaemon Odachi was arrested by the FBI and interned at Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Kapua Wall Heuer was born February 1, 1912 in Kainaliu, Kona, Hawai'i. She was the youngest child of Allen Wall and Christina Lilinoe Roy Wall. Heuer's maternal grandparents were William F. Roy, a Scotsman who arrived in Hawai'i in 1860, and Eliza Davis Roy, a native Hawaiian. Together, they took up ranching in Kona. Growing up in Waihou, an area mauka of Kainaliu town, Heuer lived the ranching lifestyle. She rode horses, and learned to rope, herd, and ship cattle. Beginning in 1918, Heuer spent most of her time in Honolulu attending Punahou School.

Katherine "Nina" Kalaiwa'a was born on July 28, 1910, in Ke'ei, South Kana, Hawaii to parents Victor Kukua Kalua and Veronica Keawe. She attended Napoopoo School and held a variety of jobs throughout her life, including housekeeper, babysitter, plantation worker, castor bean picker, coffee farmer, and lau hala weaver. Between 1932 and 1948, while living in Honolulu, she worked as a waitress and a pineapple cannery worker. Later in life, she became a resident of Honokohau, North Kana, and was active in various Hawaiian clubs and senior citizens' groups.

Maui-born man describes his traditional Hawaiian upbringing, fishing and growing taro for subsistence, in isolated Keanae. He touches on his various jobs, including county and Civilian Conservation Corps work. Although he only saw the aftermath of the April 1, 1946 tsunami, he recounts the experiences of his family and neighbors.

Kimiko Kuwana Sakai, daughter of Japanese immigrants, Hisa Muranaka Kuwana and Jitsuzo Kuwana, was born on April 26, 1916, in Pahoa, Hawai'i. She is one of eight children born to the Kuwanas. Her mother's main responsibility was running the household and caring for the children. Her father was a foreman at 'Ola'a Sugar Company plantation. Sakai graduated from Hilo High School in 1934 after completing Hilo Intermediate School and her primary grades at schools in Pahoa and 'Ola'a. After graduation, she worked as a kitchen helper at Dr. T. Kutsunai's hospital in Papa'ikou.

Laura Yuen Chock, the fourth of six children, was born July 18, 1927 in Hilo. Her father was Mun Hon Yuen, an immigrant from Canton, China. Her mother was Fannie Yen Tai Loo Yuen, a Honolulu- born Chinese American. Chock's parents owned the Hawaii Chicken Store, a poultry and herb business located on Mamo Street in downtown Hilo. Chock and her family lived in two-bedroom quarters above the store.

Living in Kaunakakai at the time, a woman tells of sleeping through the 1960 tidal wave and describes the beach the following morning.