"An expertly told story that captures the detail and spirit of Antarctic adventure, then and now . . . A compelling novel." —Sir Ranulph Fiennes, explorer

The discovery of Captain Scott's body in the Antarctic in 1912 started a global obsession with him as a man and an explorer. But a central mystery remains—why did he and his companions remain in a tent just eleven miles from the safety of their food and fuel depot during their last ten days?

Birdie Bowers, an infamously secretive painter, was named after one of Scott's companions. A century after his death, she is determined to discover what really happened to him. On her way to view some of the relics from Scott's expedition, she collapses and is rescued by Adam, a bored computer expert—who falls in love with her so completely that he agrees to travel with her to the Antarctic to discover the site of Scott's tent, now encased beneath thirty yards of ice.

"Sensual and intriguing," Dead Men tells the story of two journeys while illuminating "the passion between Adam and Birdie, the passion of the Antarctic explorers, and a passion for the truth" (Booklist).

"This debut novel by Richard Pierce proves a poetically written narrative can also be riveting and engrossing. . . . This is a love story, a historical novel, a polar expedition and a ghostly tale." —Washington Independent Review of Books