The prisoners start to pick off weak guards, the most powerful prisoner is sentenced to solitary confinement, and the guards rumble an attempted break-out.

A new prisoner arrives, a master set of keys is stolen, and the two most forceful prisoners come head-to-head in a showdown for leadership.

The oppressive conditions are wearing down the patience of some of the prisoners, whilst the anxiety of the guards is mounting. A reformed crack addict and an Evangelical christian form an unlikely alliance. And the guards find themselves taken by surprise when three prisoners launch a nighttime revolt.

Twelve prisoners and guards join together to form a new and just society but after only a few hours four of them launch a bid for power that shocks and appalls their fellow inmates.