Dozens of ferries cross the Baltic Sea on a daily basis, carrying passengers and goods between the nine countries that line its coast. These powerful vessels often reach the size of cruise ships and many offer similar leisure activities for passengers including gyms, nightclubs and spas, although their main role is unmistakably functional as a key part of the logistics industry that underpins globalisation and the just-in-time nature of modern supply chains. The integration of the freight and leisure sectors means that passengers hail from all walks of life, from lorry drivers to seasonal migrant workers returning home to families going on their summer holidays, and so each journey offers the chance to experience a deep cross-section of society not replicated anywhere else.
Across the Sea and Back Again is a wide-ranging but intimate exploration of the ships, ports and people that inhabit this maritime world, which usually exists out of sight and mind but is vital to the sustenance of contemporary consumer society and the tightly linked trans-European economy.