August, 1616. The whaling ship Heartsease has ventured high into the Arctic, but now must begin the long journey home. Only one man stays behind- Thomas Cave makes a wager to remain here, alone, until the next season. No man has yet been known to survive a winter this far north. As the light recedes and the ice begins to close in, Cave pits himself against blizzards, avalanches, bears - and his own demons. For in this wilderness that is without human history his past returns to him- the woman he had loved, the grief that drove him to the ice. 'Harding's exquisite novel is a masterpiece of mood and location ... a profound meditation on survival, atonement and faith.' - Daily Telegraph 'Her descriptions of scenery are outstanding ... Thomas Cave's ordeal should hold readers fast in an icy grip.' - Independent 'Deeply affecting ... The tale of his isolation contains scenes of devastating pathos.' - New York Times 'Divine and mesmerising ... rouses the spirits of Defoe, Hawthorne and R. L. Stevenson.' - The Times