Werner Herzog travels to the southernmost reaches of the globe to visit McMurdo Station, the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic headquarters. There, in an unimaginable world where bitter frost meets molten lava and at times the ground is but an icy canopy to the frozen sea below, a thousand dedicated men and women struggle amidst nature’s most severe conditions in the name of scientific discovery. Herzog combines spectacular photography of the majestic landscape with revealing interviews to explore the mystery behind this hidden community. Scientists disclose their individual motives for being drawn to this desolate ground to research topics as diverse as seals and volcanoes. The result is an unparalleled view of human endeavor—from the absurd to the sublime—in one of the most inaccessible regions of the earth.