A survival epic - Michael Palin. A "first-rate classic" - Sunday Times. Completely gripping - Geoff Dyer, Guardian. Deeply compelling - New York Times. Listed as Book of the Year in The Times, New Statesman, Sunday Times.

The harrowing survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly wrong when the ship became trapped in ice, leaving the crew stranded during the sunless Antarctic winter of August 1897. The Belgica set sail, eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. However, the ship soon became stuck in the ice of the Bellingshausen Sea, condemning the crew to winter in Antarctica and months of endless polar night.

In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness and the sounds of dozens of rats swarming in the hold, the crew descended into madness. In this epic narrative, Julian Sancton unfolds a tale of adventures gone horribly awry. As the crew teetered on the brink, the captain increasingly placed his hopes on two young officers, whose friendship blossomed in captivity - Dr. Frederick Cook, the wild American whose later fame overshadowed his glory on the Belgica, and the ship's first officer, the soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, who would later race Captain Scott for the South Pole.

Together, Cook and Amundsen planned a desperate escape attempt from the ice - one that would either engrave their names in history or deliver them to a terrible fate in the frozen ocean. Based on the diaries and journals of the crew, as well as exclusive access to the ship's logbook, the result is equally a maritime thriller and gothic horror. This is an unforgettable journey into the depths.