A trans-siberian odyssey through political, criminal, scientific, philosophical and amorous intrigues, and into an endless winter to confront something utterly alien.

14th July 1924: In a Warsaw buried under feet of snow and Russian rule, Benedykt Gieroslawski, a dissolute young Polish mathematician, is roused from his bed by two officials from the Ministry of Winter and dispatched to Siberia, on the Trans-Siberian Express, to track down his long-exiled father.

The catalyst for this frosty metamorphosis of 20th Century history is the impact of the Tunguska asteroid, deep in Siberia, in 1908. From this Ground Zero, emerge the Gleissen, silent harbingers of an eternal winter that follows in their ponderous wake. As they spread across the continent, agriculture collapses and people flock to cities as they seek protection from the deadly cold. As the land freezes, so does history: the Tsar still rules Russia; the Belle Époque endures; and the First World War never happened.

But out there, on the ice, a new world is being forged. The extreme, alien cold has transmuted elements into strange new forms, a 'black physics' that is the catalyst for a new industrial and scientific revolution. At the heart of it all lies Siberia - a 'Wild East', a magnet for all the political, religious and scientific fevers shaking the world at the dawn of 20th century, the crucible where black physics, shamanic lore and the cold logic of winter combine.

And Benedykt's final destination. Will he embrace the ice, or destroy it?

Jacek Dukaj (b. 1974) read his first Stanislaw Lem novel at the age of six, published his first short story at the age of 14. He is a six-time winner of the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, a four-time winner of the Jerzy Zulawski Award and a winner of a European Literary Award and a Koscielski Award. He lives in Cracow.

Ursula Phillips is an award-winning British translator of Polish. She has a background in both Russian and Polish Studies and a doctorate in Polish 19th-century literature.