Polar explorer Herbert Schröder-Stranz and a crew of 15 are aboard the “Herzog Ernst” as it leaves the harbour of Tromsö on 5. August 1912, setting course for Spitsbergen. The former officer has been dreaming of navigating the Northern Sea Route for years. Under appointment of the German Kaiser, he sets about preparing the logistics for this adventurous trip through the arctic cold. But the whole enterprise is a suicide mission ... In July 2007, the adventurer Arved Fuchs follows on the trail of the expedition. He believes that he is able to reconstruct the men's mysterious disappearance. He is accompanied by the meteorologist Dr. Dirk Notz. His mission is to gain new insight regarding the melting of the polar ice caps. The documentary accompanies their quest into the Arctic. Simultaneously, it depicts the tragedy of the Schröder-Stranz expedition.