In 1976, James Crowden left his career in the British army and travelled to Ladakh in the Northern Himalaya, one of the most remote parts of the world. James immerses himself in the Zangskari way of life, where meditation and week-long mountain festivals go hand in hand, and silence and solitude are the hallmarks of existence. When butter traders invite James on their journey down the frozen river Leh, he soon realizes that this way of living, unchanged for centuries, comes with a very human cost. Capturing a crucial moment in time for this far-flung community, James offers an extraordinary account of his time alongside the Zangskari people, before the arrival of roads and mass tourism.