When Bree and her single father move from Brooklyn to Florida, he encourages her to keep an open mind about their new town and her new school. Enith Brigitha Middle, home to the Mighty Manatees, was named for a black Olympic swimmer, and swimming seems to be a major preoccupation of the students and townsfolk. Bree loves math and solving puzzles, but she has never learned to swim and is terrified of the water. In order to take the math class she is excited about, however, the only sports elective that will work is the dreaded swimming! When Ms. Etta, an elderly neighbor at their apartment building and former swim star, rescues Bree from the complex pool and gives her lessons, the two form a friendship that boosts the middle schooler’s confidence in the water. To her surprise and with ever-growing skills, Bree finds herself on the school swim team and essential to the team’s efforts to turn its failing record around. Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship or have the Manatees swum their last lap for good? A great story that reflects the bittersweet history of black Americans and swimming.