Neal Shusterman's book Dry is a book filled with many different conflicts, and most of those conflicts are ones that Alyssa and her brother have to solve without the help of their mom and dad. This is because Alyssa's parents leave very early on in the story. At the end of part 1, their parents are preparing to try to secure some more water. As part 2 begins, Alyssa and Garrett are worried about their parents because they haven't returned yet. Readers don't know what has happened to them either, but we suspect the worst based on the short snippets about the water plant and the angry mob.

It isn't until the book's final section that readers get very specific information about what happened to Alyssa and Garrett's parents. In chapter 56, readers are told that it is two weeks after the "Tap-Out." Alyssa is showering, so we know that the water has been turned back on, but Alyssa is still very cautious about how much water she is using. She is also thinking about the various events that she and others, like her parents, lived through recently. Her mother had to be hospitalized due to injuries sustained during the Laguna Beach riot. Alyssa's father was put into jail because authorities mistook him to be one of the instigators of the violence.