A documentary about the miraculous survival of an Icelandic fisherman, after his boat sank off the shores of the Westman Islands in mid winter. All the crew drowned except one, Gudlaugur Fridthórsson, who swam five and a half kilometers in the ice cold sea and then walked barefoot over a field of sharp lava to reach help. Specialists have made tests on Gudlaugur to determine how he managed to survive seven times longer than any ordinary man under these conditions.