When a cargo plane goes missing over the Greenland ice cap in November 1942, a B-17 is dispatched on a perilous search-and-rescue mission that ends in disaster when the plane crashes into a fogged-out glacier. Almost three weeks later, the U.S. Coast Guard learns that contact has been made with the B-17 crew, who are taking refuge in the plane’s broken tail. The Coast Guard begins rescue efforts, successfully extracting two of the B-17 survivors and promising to return for the rest. But as the brutal winter ravages the savage Arctic wilderness, the odds of saving the remaining men rapidly diminish. Out of options, they have no choice but to try and survive alone on the ice cap.

Into this narrative of endurance against all odds Zuckoff weaves a breathtaking account of his 2012 journey with a private crew to recover the wreckage of the crashes and the bodies of the victims entombed in the ice (and he recently returned from yet another trip, so this paperback edition will also contain new material about his latest expedition.) In doing so, he finally pieces together this epic tale in a masterful narrative of adventure, resilience, and courage.