Ray explores the ancient forests of Belarus, a last reminder of how the whole of northern Europe once looked. In this vast wilderness of natural woodland he tracks wolves and a herd of native bison as well as raiding ants' nests for nutritious larvae, and explains he is not the first to live off this land.

Ray visits Alaska and tells extraordinary tales of survival in the frozen wilderness, including that of beachcomber Mike Legler who crashed his plane in a remote lake and battled to stay alive for 10 days before being rescued - long after the official search had been abandoned. Plus, the saga of the Farallon, a ship which ran aground on a desolate shore in the winter of 1910.

Ray demonstrates how to survive on Namibia's Skeleton Coast, where it hardly ever rains and the temperature regularly tops 50 Celsius. He also recalls the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star in 1942, whose survivors were kept alive by airdrops while a land convoy struggled to cover 600 miles of uncharted desert to reach them.

Ray travels into the jungle of north east Thailand to learn survival techniques with a group of Vietnam veterans, including Colonel George Day, Captain Chuck Klusmann and survival instructor Sergeant Tom Lutyens.

Ray learns of the treacherous weather conditions in New Zealand and hears the story of a father and son found freezing to death on an exposed mountain ridge. Plus the perils of a flooded river, and traditional firefighting techniques learned by Maori communities.