In July 1942, the 35 ships of Allied Convoy PQ 17 crossed the Arctic carrying vital war supplies for the Soviet Union. The 24-hour daylight in midsummer gave no respite from German bombers and submarines, and only 11 ships ultimately reached the port of Archangel. Here the author of The Mathews Men recounts this disastrous and still controversial chapter of the war and profiles the sailors who ran that hellish gauntlet.

"An important but overlooked point in World War II…. A nightmarish story of survival in the ice fields of the Arctic; an engaging read for fans of military history."—Library Journal