Upon arrival at Barton Prison, Julian is processed and taken to a cell occupied by a prisoner named Gordon, who soon becomes his lover. However, six months later, a jealous guard sends Gordon to another wing of the prison, separating the lovers. Not to be deterred, Julian sends a message to Gordon via Lanky, another prisoner, which starts a long correspondence between them.<br><br>Through their letters, readers learn more about the two men -- their backgrounds, their secrets, their hopes and dreams. The letters reveal the story of two lovers trapped inside a prison, separated from the world outside and from each other.<br><br>But prison life is hard. There are bashings and murders. There are corrupt prison officers and violent inmates. How can Julian, who comes from an upper middle-class family and is incarcerated for an accident, hope to survive against such odds, especially when he becomes the target of a particularly corrupt and vicious screw?

Letters from the Inside

There’s a new screw on A Block. Took a while to replace Gregson, but they finally did it. He’s a tall, wiry, nerdy-looking bastard called Phillips. Quite cute if you overlook the beak on it. I’m keeping an eye on him because sometimes the nerdy ones are the ones you have to be careful of. Donohue’s been taking him for a test run. So far he’s been managing well. Phillips got a bit nervous the first time Donohue confronted him, but that could’ve just been first-week jitters. I’ll let you know anything that happens.


Oh, and Lolly went arse-over-tit coming down the stairs from the cells to the rec. room. He was showing off to Donohue and missed the step. So fucking funny. But don’t worry, he landed on his head, so he wouldn’t have damaged anything. Barry and O’Reilly got a smack in the head from Donohue for laughing. Luckily I was on the other side of the room because I had tears pouring out of my eyes. Stuck-up freak. Officer Phillips tried to catch him, but he was too late.


Chapter 11