The first hour provides new details about the Franklin expedition, whose fate was one of the great mysteries of the 19th century.

NOVA probes the Arctic's most enduring exploration enigma. In 1845, two Royal Navy ships and 129 men led by Sir John Franklin set sail from London on an elaborately prepared expedition to conquer the elusive Arctic route and were never heard from again. Poignant clues suggest the expedition became icebound, short of food and that the stronger members resorted to murder and cannibalism. Or did their own provisions poison them? Now, 150 years later, a team of historians and forensic scientists journeys to a bleak wilderness on a quest for the truth behind the Franklin mystery.