Innocent men do go to prison and stay there for decades. Chicago. 1946. Joe Doheny is seventeen, enrolled at the University of Illinois but has a secret life; he's a burglar. Even though he holds down part time jobs, he steals so that he can continue with school. Joe is finally caught and arrested but is charged with murder! He is questioned and brutally tortured for days at the Cook County jail. Finally, in fear for his life, he signs a confession. Without a trial, he is sentenced to life, with parole. The next fifty one years are told in vignettes by Joe [currently in his sixties], and seventeen-year-old Joe, often on stage together. His quest for freedom, the people who supported his bid for freedom; the woman in his life. The discovery, too late, of the man who actually committed the murder. The tale unfolds in a series of flash backs until the audience finally realizes that there is no happy ending to Joe's story.