September 1932. The Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, 430 miles west-southwest of Chicago, houses some of the nation's worst criminals. One of them is Nick Segal, who murdered 6 people, but only got convicted for violation of the Volstead Act; he got sentenced to 3 years, and is eligible for parole now after serving only one year. While unloading a truck, inmate Gus Caserta ""accidentally"" drops a 100-pound bag of potatoes on Nick, almost killing him; skinny inmate Phil Thorne sees the whole thing, he is there when it happens. Nick only gets a broken left arm, though. Later he gets worse news: parole denied.