Kurt Kars, the young, enthusiastic but rather inexperienced captain of a fishing vessel, lets his ambition drive him into a risky venture. According to a newspaper report, there are excellent fishing grounds in the Arctic Ocean. Against the orders of the combine, he heads for them. A collision with drift ice puts the crew and ship in extreme danger. Kurt proves his worth in this emergency situation, but is called to account on his return. Initially, he wants to resign out of defiance, but then comes to his senses, realizing his guilt. The older captains, who have always kept their fishing grounds a secret and hardly ever passed on their experiences to the collective, realize that they too were not entirely innocent in the "Kars case".