When Tristan Jones, who became one of the best-known small boat sailors and writers of our times, was discharged from the Navy, and told he was physically unfit for more seagoing, he got hold of a small craft, Creswell, which he converted to a cruising ketch, and started sailing. Then, determined to sail farther north than anyone else, Jones set out from Iceland, accompanied only by Nelson, the one-eyed, three-legged dog he had inherited. Jones spent two winters full of continuous suspense and danger in this bleak polar region. He was trapped by violent snowstorms, attacked by a ravenous polar bear, and marooned on an ice pack in the Arctic Ocean, all the while grappling with loneliness and despair, plus dwindling supplies. Finally, when the ice shifted, crushing Creswell like a matchbox, Jones had to deal with possible death!