In 2005, Nolan Hayes [Paul Walker] rushes his wife, Abigail [Génesis Rodríguez], to a New Orleans hospital as she is in labor five weeks early. She dies in childbirth, leaving behind a newborn daughter who must be kept on a ventilator for the next two days until she can breathe on her own. As Hurricane Katrina bears down, the hospital is evacuated, and Nolan is left alone with his daughter—who they name Abigail after her mother—because the ventilator cannot be moved. In his search for food, Nolan encounters a cook who gives him change for the vending machines and some sausage. A nurse promises to bring back help, but a basement flood triggers a power outage, forcing Nolan to find a generator for the ventilator battery. The generator must be hand-cranked every three minutes, and with each charge the battery life shortens, turning every action into a race against time.
Nolan discovers a rescue dog tangled in rope and frees it, naming it Sherlock, and feeds it his sausage. He hears helicopters overhead and goes to the roof to signal one, only to see criminals shoot at it and drive it away. He then finds an ambulance parked outside and tries to call for help over the radio, but only an automated message responds. Nolan searches for a spare battery, but the available generator in a flooded basement is ruined from immersion and nearly electrocutes him. Still, he manages to charge the battery again just in time. He remains awake for more than 36 hours, running low on food, and has cut his hand while cranking the device, yet he keeps finding clever means to recharge the battery—using his foot, then a rod.
Looters breach the hospital, stealing food, drugs, and saline water needed for the baby. One intruder enters Nolan's room and is driven off by Sherlock; Nolan realizes this man had previously robbed and killed the nurse who was bringing supplies. With almost no sleep in two days, he injects adrenaline to stay awake. Two more looters break in; Nolan overpowers one, takes his gun, and shoots the other. After about 40 hours, the hand crank finally snaps, and Nolan performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Abigail to keep her alive, but collapses from shock and exhaustion. He then hears the ventilator beeping and realizes it is running out of power, yet he is too weak to rise—convinced that he has failed his child. Sherlock returns with two paramedics, who begin to wheel Nolan out on a stretcher. When Abigail starts to cry, the paramedics hand Nolan his baby, offering a flicker of hope amid the devastation.
