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A quarter of all land mass in the Northern Hemisphere is permanently frozen over – or has been so far. Not only in the Arctic Circle, but in high mountain ranges and even some lower ones. As the global climate warms, what effects will it have if the Alpine and Arctic permafrost thaws? When we hear permafrost, we mostly think of the endless expanses of frozen tundra in Arctic Siberia, but it occurs right in the middle of civilized Europe, as well, namely, in the Alps. In many cases, whole slopes would slide and peaks collapse without the support of glacial permafrost. But the ice is receding. In the Arctic, the ground is thawing at deeper and deeper layers. Whole buildings are vanishing into the softening soil. The effects in the Alps are similarly dramatic and dangerous: Rockslides and avalanches are the result. And on the microscopic level, once temperatures rise above freezing, microbes begin to consume plant matter that has been entrapped in the permafrost for millennia, releasing the climate killer methane and triggering a vicious spiral: The greenhouse effect reinforces itself. This insightful documentary accompanies scientists searching for the answer to urgent questions, such as how long has the permafrost existed and how did it result? What exactly is hidden under the layers of frozen ground? And what happens when the frost recedes and all the gases and liquids in the ground escape?