In June 1994, Alvah Simon and his wife, Diana, set off in their 36-foot sailboat to explore the hauntingly beautiful world of icebergs, tundra, and fjords lying high above the Arctic Circle. Four months later, unexpected events would trap Simon alone on his boat—with the exception of his cat, Halifax—and as he recounts in this gripping memoir, he battles the elements even as he contends with crushing loneliness, sudden blindness, and private demons.