This book explores the reasons for the building of Scott's ship Discovery in Dundee. It recounts the remarkable exploits of Dundee's ice master, Captain Harry McKay, whose experience of rescuing ships locked in pack ice with the aid of his new explosive techniques, made him the Admiralty's choice to free Scott from this fate in 1904. The author's research in Dundee, New Zealand and Australia has uncovered' unpublished material, including photographs and diaries, from the two rescue ships and reveals for the first time how two Merchant Navy Captains - McKay of the Terra Nova and Colbeck of the Morning - blasted 18 miles of ice to free Scott.

The book has a darker side and tells how Discovery's inexperienced leader consigned the two superbly experienced and competent captains, McKay and Colbeck, to oblivion and became a national hero in their stead.