The movie takes place during World War II and depicts the true story of Jan Baalsruds amazing escape from the German army from the coast of Northern Norway and across the border to the neutral country Sweden. Jan Baalsrud is on a sabotage mission from England to Norway together with 11 other soldiers in the winter of 1943 in a fishing boat when they are attacked by a German patrolboat. Jan Baalsrud is the only one who manages to escape and sets off towards Sweden through the enormous amounts of snow and the steep mountains of Norway. The local communities where he passes through help him despite the danger of being arrested and killed. Jan Baalsrud, snowblind and having to cut off his toes because of frost-damage survives alone in the mountains for weeks. The locals are constantly trying to get him over to Sweden, but German patrols and the winter storms delay their departure.