Sam McGrath has always rejected his father's love of mountaineering. Now, at a low point in his life, he sees the chance of escape. On impulse he takes off for an expedition to Everest, following an intriguing woman he meets by chance.
Finch Buchanan is going to Everest as an expedition doctor. Determined to prove herself, she hides a secret - her love for Al Hood, the Welsh mountaineer who will lead the expedition. But Al is married - to the mountains and to another woman.
As the group of climbers set out to conquer the highest peak, their beautiful and threatening surroundings isolate them. They are tested to the utmost. At the heart of it all, enclosed by the iron ring of peaks, is the combative, passionate and tragic relationship between Finch and the two men. Two men driven by different demons, and a woman with her own dream . . .
