In Churchill, Manitoba, polar bears gather each fall waiting for the ice to freeze on the Hudson Bay so they can stalk out to their winter habitat where they hunt their prey. Until then, the bears prowl through the town, scavenge through the dump, and often begin to starve. Beryl is a nature photographer on an expedition to photograph these hungry bears from a small iron cage. She has never photographed animals larger than deer and has usually worked in zoos, not in the wild. Now she is challenging herself to face the world's largest land carnivore in the bone-aching cold of an unforgiving terrain that offers no protection should the cage fail. Beryl's companions include three men: David, a video cameraman who would prefer a tropical assignment; Butler, a naturalist and writer; and Jean-Claude, their enigmatic guide. Even before they leave Churchill their group runs into trouble, for despite their state-of-the-art survival gear and high-tech gadgetry, Beryl and her companions are not prepared for the numbing, killing reality that awaits them in the cage. Miles from Churchill, the expedition goes disastrously wrong and they must try to make their way past starving bears, across frozen tundra and treacherous ice floes, to the warmth and safety of town. The Cage is a gripping adventure of a woman who goes to a dangerous place in search of herself and finds she must draw on her every strength in order to survive.

ALA Notable Book. The story of a nature photographer on an otherwise all-male documentary expedition to the Canadian tundra. From within a small iron cage, this small, often fearful woman is challenging herself to face the planet's largest land carnivores in the bone-aching cold of an unforgiving terrain. Before long, disaster strikes, and she must draw on her every strength in order to survive. "This riveting, assured first novel is part survival story, part coming-of-age tale. Some of Schulman's scenes are truly terrifying. People will talk about this book."--Publishers Weekly. A QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB SELECTION.

The story of a female nature photographer on an otherwise all-male documentary expedition to the Canadian tundra.

When Audrey Schulman is not traveling the globe in search of adventure, she designs software. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and graduated from Barnard with a degree in pyschology. Born in Montreal, she now lives in Boston with a small land carnivore, her cat. The Cageis her first novel.