Inspired by Sir John Franklin's doomed 1845 expedition to find the North West Passage, 'The Frozen Deep' is a tale of heroism and self-sacrifice set in the inhospitable Arctic wastes. On the night before his departure on the Arctic expedition, Clara Burnham pledges her love to Frank Aldersley, an officer of the Sea-Mew. She later discovers that Richard Wardour, an admirer she has spurned, is to sail on the expedition's other vessel, the Wanderer. Before he leaves, Wardour promises to avenge himself on the man who has stolen Clara from him. There should be no cause for the two men to meet, but when both ships are trapped in the Arctic ice, Clara's sixth sense warns her of the terrible danger her lover now faces.