Kevin Barlow will die on schedule and according to regulations. Harry Parlington, director of the Cantos execution facility, intends to make sure of it. However Barlow chooses to go, be it calmly or fighting violently to the end, Parlington feels confident that he and his team can deal with the situation. Father Preston is on hand to provide spiritual guidance, if needed. Doctor Lowe can provide pills to relieve the tension. The tie-down crew, all veterans of many executions, work swiftly and efficiently. All angles appear to be covered, until Parlington discovers there are many more angles to Kevin Barlow than he had first imagined. When Barlow makes a baffling and unusual final request, a strange duel ensues between the condemned man and the prison director. In this struggle there can be no winner or loser, only two men faced with doubts and difficult choices to make. The iron grip Parlington usually maintains on the execution procedure begins to slip as the final hours become a maze of manners of dying. 犯人凯文·巴洛将按照即定程序被处以死刑，负责人哈里·帕林顿打算顺利地完成整个过程，尽量不出一点差错，不管凯文·巴洛会有什么样的表现，平静或者怯弱或者极度反抗， 帕林顿和他的手下都觉得可以应付自如。普雷斯顿神父将安抚犯人，给他精神上的指引，洛恩医生可以提供减轻紧张状态的药物，厨师会尽量做好最后一餐......这些老手都相信他们可以轻松而有技巧的对付各种各样的问题。 但是事实上有很多事情的发生都是始料不及的，当巴洛提出了不同寻常的最后的请求以后，一场奇异的斗争发生在犯人与负责人之间，在这场争斗中，没有人是真正的赢家或者失败者，在巴洛走向死亡的过程中，面对他们的是无限的疑惑与选择和无数的可能性......