One stormy night Grace, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, spots a ship in trouble on the rocks. At the same time, the lighthouse cat, Gracie, discovers that one of her kittens has strayed. Grace and Gracie both hurry to the rescue, braving the rain and storm. Grace alerts her father and together they set out in the lifeboat to save the passengers. Meanwhile, Gracie ventures into the dark night and howling wind looking everywhere for her lost kitten.

The dual stories—one told only in pictures, the other in both pictures and text—illustrate the bravery of two rescues in 1838, which saved thirteen people from a shipwreck and one poor kitten from a terrible storm.