Arctic Drift is a Dirk Pitt

Dirk Pitt

Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...

 novel, the 20th of the series and was released on November 25, 2008.

Plot

The plot begins in the year 1847, when the Franklin Expedition becomes stranded trying to find the Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

. They experience a harsh winter. The men are seemingly going mad. Their stranded boats (Erebus

HMS Erebus (1826)

HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales in 1826. The vessel was named after the dark region in Hades of Greek mythology called Erebus...

 and Terror

HMS Terror (1813)

HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...

) are loaded with a mysterious, unidentified silvery metal. The story switches to the present day. There is an ongoing quest to save the earth from Global Warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

. All of the world's scientists are looking for a solution. Some people are trying to thwart these efforts. The NUMA

National Underwater and Marine Agency

The National Underwater and Marine Agency , originally an organization within the fiction of author Clive Cussler, is a private non-profit organization in the United States...

 team, headed by Dirk Pitt

Dirk Pitt

Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...

, Al Giordino

Al Giordino

Albert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...

 and Dirk Pitt's children, Dirk Junior

Dirk Pitt, Jr.

Dirk Pitt, Jr. is a fictional character. He is a protagonist in a few recent Clive Cussler novels.born- 1981 Dirk Pitt, Jr. is the son of Dirk Pitt and Summer Moran. He has a twin sister Summer Pitt. He works for the National Underwater and Marine Agency as the special projects director...

 and Summer

Summer Pitt

Summer Pitt is a fictional character, the daughter of Dirk Pitt from the Dirk Pitt series of adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. She and her twin brother, Dirk Pitt, Jr. were raised by their mother, Summer Moran, without Dirk Pitt's knowledge. Upon reaching adulthood, and following their...

, are trying to find a way to stop Global Warming. Their quest leads them to investigate a series of mysterious asphyxiations. They soon realize that the solution they are looking for is hidden in the heart of the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

; in an old forgotten ship. They will need to solve a centuries old mystery to save the earth.