The film's source material is the manhunt for , a mysterious fugitive in Northern Canada.
: In 1931, Johnson allegedly interfered with local trappers' lines in the Northwest Territories. When the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrived to question him, he shot and wounded a constable through his cabin door.
: The pursuit lasted 48 days in sub-zero temperatures, covering over 150 miles across frozen terrain. Johnson famously scaled the Richardson Mountains—a feat considered impossible at the time.