In 1988, in a gruelling and dangerous adventure, 50-year-old Helen Thayer became the first woman to ski solo to the magnetic North Pole. She trekked 345 miles, pulling a 160-pound sledge and with a husky, Charlie, as her only companion. Attacked by polar bears, caught in violent storms, and close to freezing and starving, she had to learn to control her fear or die. This is her story - one not only of survival, but of love between human and animal. The loyal Charlie, a present from an Eskimo hunter, saved her life more than once.