On January 14, 1993, a team of scientists descended into the crater of Galeras, a restless Andean volcano in Southern Colombia, when it suddenly erupted, exploding in a barrage of burning rocks and glowing shrapnel. When Nevado del Ruiz erupted in November 1985, it wiped the city of Armero off the face of the earth and killed more than 23,000 people - one of the worst natural disasters of the 20th Century. Expertly detailing the turbulent history of Colombia and the geology of its snow-peaked volcanoes, Victoria bruce links together the stories of the heroes, victims, survivors, and bystanders of these two events, evoking what it means to live in the shawdow of a volcano and showing how clashing cultures and scientific arrogance resulted in tragic and unnecessary loss of life.