On the run from a failed marriage, Mike leaves London for the Yorkshire moors. There, he meets a close coterie of friends who are searching for the unattainable: the perfect climb. Through rock-climbing, Mike discovers an intensity of experience – a wash of pain, fear and excitement – that obliterates the rest of his world. Increasingly addicted to the adrenaline, folklore and camaraderie of the sport, he finds, for a time, a genuine escape. But it is gained at a price...