Ken McGoogan chronicles Hearne's harrowing odyssey, which was marked by hardship, hunger and disappointment, and mitigated only by his friendship with the legendary Indian leader Matonabbee. Hearne's epic adventure culminated in the infamous massacre by the Coppermine River an event that became the cornerstone of his own book, Journey to the Northern Ocean, and changed his life forever. It was Hearne's own account of this atrocity that McGoogan believes inspired Samuel Coleridge's famous poem the "Time Of The Ancient Mariner". Haunted by guilt and sorrow, the explorer shared his story with the poet when they met in London.