The first leg of Simon’s Scandinavian journey takes him from Svalbard, the beautiful archipelago that marks the northernmost outpost of Norway, south into the magical snowy region of Lapland. In freezing conditions, he travels to Nato's longest border with Russia, where tensions are high and even Santa's village is prepared for a potential war.

The second leg of Simon’s journey takes him from the beautiful fjords of Norway across the north Atlantic to Iceland, the original land of fire and ice. It’s a world of extremes and contradictions, from a country that’s been described as the Kuwait of Europe to an island that lives under the constant threat of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

On the last leg of his Scandinavian journey, Simon travels through the beautiful pine forests of Sweden to Copenhagen, the historic capital of Denmark. In these, some of the happiest, wealthiest and most equal countries on earth, he discovers that all is not quite as rosy as it seems and uncovers some genuine surprises.