Teenagers Jessie (Thora Birch) and Sean (Vincent Kartheiser) Barnes challenge both nature and themselves on a death-defying mission through the Arctic wilderness. Six months ago, their mother's death prompted their father (Dirk Benedict) to relocate the family to an Alaskan village where he's built a new life as a bush pilot. When his plane crashes in a mountain range, Jessie and Sean set out to find him. Along the way they rescue an amazingly friendly polar bear cub from a poacher (Charlton Heston) and test their courage through sea kayaking, shooting rapids, trekking over glaciers and climbing mountains.