The narrative described a British expedition to the North Pole led by Captain John Hatteras that occurred in 1861. Despite the crew's mutiny costing their ship its life, Hatteras and a few other men continue the journey. He finds the wreckage of a ship from the previous American mission along the beach of the island known as "New America."
Doctor Clawbonny remembers the design for the actual Ice palace, which was built entirely out of ice in Russia in 1740 to create a snow house where they were supposed to spend the winter. The travelers survive their winter on the island mostly because of Doctor Clawbonny's inventiveness.
The water loses its ice after winter is over. The travelers construct a boat from the wreck and move in the direction of the pole. They find an island with an active volcano here and give it the name Hatteras. The gang locates a fjord with difficulty and makes landfall. They arrive at the volcano's mouth after three hours of climbing. Hatteras leaps into the crater where the pole is located precisely.
The final sentence, "Captain Hatteras ceaselessly marches northward," makes this clear.
