Awaiting execution, Denver Bayliss gains an unlikely friend and confidant in Fred Whitmore, a former cop who is now a prison guard. Whitmore's life is a mess, however: he shuts out his wife and can't relate to his son....展开As Bayliss' execution draws nearer, Whitmore clashes more and more with Lt. McMannis, his supervisor, over Bayliss' treatment. Bayliss gives Whitmore a new understanding of life by helping him come to terms with a traumatic past, and Whitmore helps Bayliss to make his peace with himself and the world.