Inspired by the reports and books of previous men who have made the expedition to the Antarctic, an adventure-curious woman gathers a crew of women to venture to the South Pole. With the help of a wealthy benefactor, the crew takes a Chilean ship to Antarctica, where they pitch a tent and dig a home base beneath the ice as they prepare for their expedition a little over a hundred miles into the mainland.

They will cover at least 11 miles a day on the tundra in weather as cold as -30 degrees to arrive safely. On the second day of their journey, they get caught in a blizzard and had to stay in their tents for 30 hours. Unfortunately, one of the crew members got sick that night. As a result, a section of the crew had to turn back while the others kept forth. Eventually, she makes it to the South Pole alongside the second crew, but she finds it utterly disappointing. It is harsh, unbearable, and the wind whips constantly. Her arrival was so lackluster she didn’t even feel the desire to mark their spot as the first to arrive. Instead, she hoped that someone else might find it a fresh adventure.

Though it took them about 15 days to get there, it took them half the time to venture back because their backs are to the wind. What should have been a simple return ends up being twice as much suffering because she has lost her goggles. Leaving her in pain due to snow blindness. They determine if they walk any further with their eyes in such poor condition, they won’t make it back safely. Instead, they bunker down and wait until they can see again. Thankfully, the crew that had turned back ventures out to find them and takes them back to the main camp.

Upon their return, they are surprised to see that one of their crewmates is pregnant! This is unfortunate because they were unlikely to return to Chile—or even the captain's boat before the baby would be due. The woman ends up having the child a week before the ship came back to get them, naming it Rosa del Sur. Though they make it back to Chile safely, the crew largely disbanded back into their mundane roles as housewives, mothers, and nuns, the like. Even the baby, Rosa del Sur, passed away four years after the expedition. Not leaving behind a single trace save this journal, which she kept hidden save for the lone person, perhaps a grandchild, that would be reading it long after she had gone. Left with a tale of a crazy grandmother.