The year is 1868, and fourteen-year-old Alika and his younger brother, Sulu, are hunting for seals on an ice floe attached to their island in the Arctic.Suddenly the ice starts to shake, and they hear a loud crack--the terrible sound of the floe breaking free from land.The boys watch with horror as the dark expanse of water between the ice and the shore rapidly widens, and they start drifting south--away from their home, their family, and everything they've ever known.

Throughout their six-month-long journey down the Greenland Strait, the brothers face bitter cold, starvation, and most frightening of all, vicious polar bears.But they still remain hopeful that one day they'll be rescued.

This thrilling new adventure story from bestselling author Theodore Taylor is a moving testament to the bond between brothers--and to the strength of the human spirit.

Includes a map, a glossary of Inuit words and phrases, and an author's note..