The story of the convoy PQ-8 in 1941/2 and the costly return journey of the SS Harmatris in late 1942 is used to illustrate the wider context of the Russian convoys and the war in general. Derived from the diaries and memorabilia of Robert William Brundle, the book gives a personal view by the Master of a British vessel of the progress of a troubled convoy, of which he was appointed Commodore, and of his eight months in Murmansk and Archangel, observing the lives and straightened circumstances of the inhabitants in the interludes between the bombings, and his struggle to repair the ship, discover and distribute food among the crew, and simply to stay alive and return home safely.