After his many suicide attempts are thwarted, San Quentin lifer Lee Umstetter (Nick Nolte) finds his personal redemption when a traveling theater group stages a performance at the prison. Motivated to write and direct his own play with his fellow prisoners, Lee is discovered by a sympathetic newspaper critic (Rita Taggart), whose advocacy leads to his release. Forming his own theater troupe with other former inmates, Lee finds that life on the outside isn't as easy as he had expected.