An extremely racist boxing match is arranged for the day of the catastrophic Galvestown Flood. The white boxer, as loathesome a piece of work as ever appeared in a Lansdale book, is supposed to kill the black boxer. Also, everybdy has lots of sex, some in healthier and less toxic ways than others. Actually, no, most of it is nasty and toxic. Meanwhile, out on the Gulf, a storm is building the likes of which has never been seen before. The waters start to rise, people start to get nervous, but the boxing match must go ahead. 

Lansdale's deliberately rough and raw storytelling is matched by the savagry of the storm. The ending is gutwrenching, but Lansdale's a master, so it's also unexpectedly moving. Still one of his most memorable works.