Otchum, a young laika born in Siberia on the shores of Lake Baikal, was one of the greatest sled dogs to have traveled the frozen lands of the far north. Leader of the pack, and lead dog of Nicolas Vanier's sled team, Otchum accompanied the author across Siberia, Lapland, and the Kola Peninsula. Then with Vanier's family, including his 18-month-old daughter, they spent a year traveling along Jack London's route through the Rocky Mountains of the Canadian North as far as Alaska - a genuine world tour of icy wastelands. At six years of age, Otchum was in his prime, ready to face the most difficult dog sled race in the world, when he tragically lost his life. This book, which describes his wonderful adventures, is full of the tenderness, love and good will that can exist between a man and his lead dog.