The first contemporary young adult novel by Carnegie Medalist McCaughrean is a spellbinding journey in which a dream trip is turned into a mad obsession, a web of lies, and a nightmarish struggle for survival.


Captain Oates, hero of the Antarctic, has been dead for nearly a century. But not in Sym's head. In there, he is her constant companion, her soulmate, her adviser. It is as if he walked out of the polar blizzard and into her mind. In fact, if it were not for him, life might be as bleak as the Antarctic wilderness. When a short family expedition spirals out of control, Sym is forced to ask herself a question that becomes a matter of life or death: is it madness to stake one's happiness on someone who isn't there?