Fascinating stories of the age-old tug-of-war between prisons desperate to keep inmates inside and the escapees pursuing freedom.

A convict who returned to the prison he had recently escaped from to foment a mass breakout; a murderer on the run who veered from folk hero to persona non grata - these are just a few of the felons whose prison break adventures continue to enthrall and terrify.

brings into sharp focus the attempts of masterminds, tricksters, villains, and innocents to claw their way to freedom - sometimes successful, sometimes abortive, often deadly.