Oscar Prass, a shy young poet, is sentenced to eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Once inside he has to face up to serial killers, rapists and murders, and the likes of Hard-Case and Coloscopy, and the evil prison warder Dr-No. In his struggle for personal survival, he tries to use words instead of violence, and eventually wins over some of the hardest hearst. He leaves prison an older and wiser person.