Set in Mexico on the Day of the Dead in 1938, Malcolm Lowry's 'Under the Volcano' chronicles the final, tragic day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul. As Firmin wanders through the town of Quauhnahuac, his mind a whirlwind of memories and guilt, his ex-wife Yvonne and half-brother Hugh desperately try to pull him back from the abyss. The novel is a profound and complex exploration of self-destruction, love, and despair, told through a powerful stream-of-consciousness narrative that mirrors the protagonist's descent into a personal hell.