On 8th May 1902, the citizens of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, huddled together in the spectacular cathedral of Notre Dame. For only God could save them from the disaster about to befall their city. Mont Pelee, the island volcano, had suddenly come alive. Within five minutes the beautiful city (hailed as the Paris of the Caribbean) had been destroyed along with its 30,000 inhabitants. It seemed that the only survivor was Ludger Sylbaris, a twenty-seven-year-old labourer who had spent the previous night in confinement in Saint-Pierre jail. The eruption was the most sensational event of its time. Sylbaris was taken on by P.T. Barnum's famous circus and became a minor celebrity as he toured America recounting the horrors of the explosion. Fire Mountain is the thrilling story of that fateful day, the complex political events that played a part in the tragedy and a fascinating history of the island itself.