In 1743, a Russian ship was blown off course and trapped in ice off the coast of Svalbard (Spitzbergen), a barren Arctic island. Four sailors went ashore with only two days' supplies. Upon return they found the ship had vanished, apparently crushed and sunk by the ice. The men survived more than six years until another ship blown off course rescued them.

An expert on the literature of adventure, David Roberts was incredulous when he first heard the story. His near-obsessive quest to find the true story culminated with his own journey to the same desolate island. Here, Roberts shares the remarkable story that he discovered, a meditation on the genius of survival against impossible odds.