It's 1932, the Age of Flight, and twelve year old American John, with his mother and sister, is flying round the world in a plane piloted by his father. But problems beset them when their plane, a Sikorsky Amphibian, is forced to land on an iceberg off the shores of Greenland. How will they survive? But help comes from a Scottish deepsea fishing boat on the North Sea, pursuing its catch. On the boat is Colin, also twelve, a boy who has had to join the crew to upport his family after his own father died at sea. As the captain steers the boat through the perils of Icebeerg Alley, Colin learns his new job. This is a story about planes and boats, boys and families, and life on the high seas and in the air, a period of adventure and hardship. The story was inspired by the real life adventures of the American Flying Family and their rescue by the crew of the Scottish fishing vessel, The Lord Talbot.