Tom Selleck stars as Jimmie Rainwood, an average citizen whose life becomes a living nightmare when he is framed by a pair of crooked cops and sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. Unable to prove his innocence, he is thrown into a maximum security prison with a bunch of sadistic thugs. During his incarceration, Jimmy takes a crash course in prison survival from fellow inmate Virgil Cane (F. Murray Abraham) and learns to do things he never thought he was capable of. While he suffers in prison, his loving wife (Laila Robins) leads an undaunting campaign to clear his name and bring the corrupt cops to justice. Finally, after three years, Jamie makes parole and is able to begin his life anew, determined to exact revenge against the crooked team who did him wrong.