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

Still no extra cellmate. Preston is behaving himself. But I do have some news about Phillips. Donohue is steaming mad about what he did to Lolly, and every day Phillips is racking up more enemies. He’s a real nasty bastard. Loves humiliating us. The other day he spat on his shoes, then called Lolly over and made him clean them. So Donohue got a few of us together to discuss what we can do about it. We can’t knife him. Not so soon after Gregson. That was a bloody pain in the neck and the screws still couldn’t find out who did it. I don’t reckon they’ll let us off so easily if another screw gets it. We’ve got to really think about this one.


Chapter 12