Johnny Adams arrives in a brutal prison under an assumed name after deliberately framing himself in order to kill White, a captain of the guards, because he had beaten Johnny's father to death. Rev. Thomas Stoner, also newly arrived, is the new prison chaplain, opposed by Schafer, the prison warden. Stoner learns of Johnny's intentions and dissuades him from following his plan, but when convict "Blackie" Drew kills White, Johnny is blamed.