Earl is set an assignment after attending a prison class which focuses on creative writing. It doesn't take long before Earl realises that writing is harder than he first thought.
Upon discovering that he is the holder of a winning ticket, Earl is hit by a car and the ticket blows out of his limp hand as he lies unconscious in the street. While recovering in the hospital and watching television, Earl has a karmic epiphany.
The multi-award-winning US comedy returns as Earl sets off on another string of adventures in an attempt to atone for the wrongdoings of his past, with a little help from his dim-witted brother Randy, crazy ex-wife Joy and sexy motel maid Catalina. Having falsely confessed to a crime on Joy's behalf, Earl is sentenced to two years in prison, and Joy agrees to look after Randy, who is helpless without Earl.
Earl finds himself compromising his ethics in order to keep Glen at bay. Meanwhile, Joy decides that she needs to teach Randy how to make his own decisions and be self-reliant.
A wave of urban reform brings down the notorious Franklin Terrace public housing towers, forcing the Barksdale drug crew to find a new home on the streets of West Baltimore.