Phillip and Mark, lifelong friends, enter into the world of the criminally insane, in the Maximum Security Division of Colorado State Psychiatric Hospital, with little insight into the bargain they have struck. Their strengths and weaknesses are tested on a daily basis, until they are forced to make difficult decisions that have far reaching impact on their lives and the lives of those around them. They risk everything in an attempt to claim their rights in a situation where they have none. They and their coworkers face off against the State of Colorado, their power, freedom, and livelihood at stake. They become involved in a precedent setting strike that influences the course of politics in Colorado. Meanwhile, a love story unfolds between Philip and a female coworker in the midst of this living hell. The Gatekeeper is a fictionalized account of actual events. There is no better person to tell this tale of working with the criminally insane than Antonio Arguello, who spent many years working in the Maximum Security Unit at CSPH.