At first glance, Beryl Findham, a petite, shy photographer, seems unequipped for an arctic expedition to photograph polar bears. She's gotten the assignment because her five foot frame fits into the custom-built, bear-proof cage. Almost from the start of the expedition, things go wrong. After her group reaches their destination 40 miles from the nearest town, they realize how unprepared they are to handle the unrelenting cold and the resourceful, hungry bears. Soon, they're forced to abandon their assignment and trek across the white, uncompromising vastness of the windswept tundra, where cage and camera no longer separate humans and bears.