Before you even reach this harsh land of ice, snow and rock , you must make the most unpredictable ocean crossing on Earth. Humans cannot survive unassisted. Whether microscopic or massive, the natural world reigns supreme. From the streets of Buenos Aires to the primal wonders of Antarctica, Southern Lights is an epic tale of natural beauty and international intrigue. As it is in real life, Antarctica is the main character. It is a continent amused at any attempts to tame it and deadly to those who ignore the power of this savage, ancient land. There's a secret aboard the MS Monica Solås, a polar class cruise ship setting sail for two weeks on the Antarctic Peninsula. Among the passengers is a team of scientists on an urgent mission to recover classified data from a missing research submersible . There's another secret, trapped under a trillion tons of ice. The missing sub also contains data revealing a sinister environmental crime. A team of killers is under the ice shelf , waiting. Their job- to ensure the recovery team never retrieves the missing submersible or the data. This book introduces Army Sergeant Major Katherine Bailey, code name Elphie , a U.S. Army intelligence operative with a price on her head from al Qaeda. Elphie had hoped to spend the season guarding nuclear secrets in Hawaii. Instead, she's sent to the coldest place on earth. Anticipating easy duty babysitting some civilian scientists, what transpires tests Elphie's limits of ingenuity and courage. She must complete her mission while saving the passengers and crew of Monica Solås from a gruesome fate at the hands of twenty first century pirates. Along the way, meet Li Hsang , the Chinese wife of one of the scientists, who hates the cold and anyone who is not Chinese . Meet Marty and Cynthia Walton of Iowa, retirees living with their own painful memories. Share the personal transformation as they immerse in the magical lands at the bottom of the globe. And meet Craig Foster , a corporate bad actor whose moral compass would lead the world to ruin and send Monica Solås to the bottom of the ocean. From the hilarious to the heroic, the international cast of characters takes you on a wild ride across the Drake Passage, cruising among the icebergs and wildlife in the Weddell Sea, searching under the massive Antarctic ice shelf and finally, getting trapped inside an active volcano . All of it happening under the captivating, neon glow of Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights.