Stephen Jackley spent 6" years in 12 different prisons around the UK, witnessing seismic shifts in a system that incarcerates upwards of 80,000 people each year. From the twilight years of Gordon Brown's Labour government, to the draconian policies ushered in by Tory Justice Minister Chris Grayling, we witness how prisons have become a political playground for pandering towards an ever partisan press. The author takes the reader on a harrowing journey through the decrepit conditions of Victorian-era jails, to more modern privatised establishments with special 'therapeutic communities' -- encountering surprises at every turn. In the background of severe budget cuts, rising violence and suicides, the door is thrown wide open on abuses of power and hastily enforced policies -- with legal challenges brought before the High Court. Throughout it all, a lens is cast on all aspects of the UK's penal system, revealing levels of dysfunctionalism and inefficiency that challenge what purpose prisons may actually serve.