In this dark thriller, two inmates become friends in California's San Quentin, a world of violence and paranoia where prisoners struggle to survive.

Basis for the film starring Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, and Mickey Rourke―directed by Steve Buscemi.

Ron Decker is a newbie, a drug dealer whose shot at a short two-year stint in the can is threatened from inside and outside. He's got to keep a spotless record or it's ten to life. But at San Quentin, no man can steer clear of the Brotherhoods, the race wars, the relentlessness. It soon becomes clear that some inmates are more equal than others; Earl Copen is one of them, an old-timer who has learned not just to survive but to thrive behind bars. Not much can surprise him—but the bond he forms with Ron startles them both; it's a true education of a felon.

“Edward Bunker is among the tiny band of American prisoner-writers whose work possesses integrity, craftsmanship, and moral passion . . . an artist with a unique and compelling voice.” ―William Styron

“Edward Bunker writes about the netherworld of society's outcasts with a passion and insight that comes from having lived life close to the bone.” ―The Los Angeles Times