Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. His debilitating malaise is drinking, an activity that has overshadowed his life. On the Day of the Dead in 1938, his wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac, inspired by a vision of life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse. She is determined to rescue Firmin and their failing marriage, but her mission is complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul's half-brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend. The events of this single day unfold against the backdrop of Mexico as Malcolm Lowry transforms the hours into an odyssey of memory, regret, and ruin.

First conceived during Malcolm Lowry’s years in Mexico, the earliest manuscript for Under the Volcano faced repeated rejection before Lowry devoted himself to four years of rewrites between 1940 and 1944. The work was nearly lost in a fire at the Lowry's cabin in Dollarton before being completed. Lowry's second wife, Margerie Bonner, rescued the unfinished novel, though all of Lowry's other works in progress were lost in the blaze. The novel was finished in 1945 and published in 1947 in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Lettered edition is limited to 26 copies with a 6” x 9” trim size. It is signed by Michael Schmidt, Chris Ackerley, and Sara Tyson, and includes seven color illustrations by Tyson. The volume is bound in full goatskin with handmade leather head and tail bands. The front cover features a central inlay composed of wood and leather in the form of a laser-engraved skull, inspired by Día de los Muertos imagery, with leather inlays on the skull surface and foil blocking. The text is set in Linotype Aldus with Michelangelo for display, both designed by Hermann Zapf, and the edition is designed by Jason Dewinetz. The book features Hahnemühle Bugra endsheets and text pages printed on Mohawk Via Laid paper by offset lithography. It is housed in a cloth-covered clamshell enclosure and includes an introduction by Michael Schmidt and an afterword by Chris Ackerley.