The film is narrated by actress Meryl Streep and driven by a jazz-, blues-, Cajun-, and gospel-fueled soundtrack featuring Tab Benoit, Amanda Shaw, Mavis Staples, and Allen Toussaint.

The story then sets off on an historical exploration of how New Orleans rose up hundreds of years ago out of an untamed swampland – and went on to become celebrated around the world as "The Big Easy", a place where a feeling of joyful freedom permeated the music, the food and the city's inimitable talent for turning "good times" into an art form.

New Orleans evolved into the busiest port in the U.S., but after engineers diverted the Mississippi River, depleting the wetlands, the city became increasingly vulnerable to the killer winds and rising waters of seasonal hurricanes.

Here, Tab Benoit explains that hope for New Orleans' future will lie in concerted efforts to not only preserve but restore these wetlands by redirecting the Mississippi River's silt and re-planting vital foliage.

[2] The music, produced by the Audubon Nature Institute, includes performances of the jazz, blues and gospel that appeared in the film, as well as samples of Dixieland and other pieces by Fats Domino, Chubby Carrier, and the Neville Brothers.