Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. In 1889, the whaler's daughter from Dundee, sets out to become a scientist and explorer. She struggles to be taken seriously, but determination sees her through to head the British expedition. Geologist Jakob de Beyn joins a rival expedition, led by the furiously driven Lester Armitage. When Jakob and Flora's paths cross, it is a fateful meeting. All three become obsessed with the north; a place where violent extremes exist side by side.