Fascinating stories of the age-old tug-of-war between prisons struggling to keep inmates inside and escapees desperate to get out.

A convict who returned to the prison he had recently escaped from in a vain attempt to foment a mass breakout; a murderer on the run who veered from folk hero to persona non grata after killing a police dog; a fugitive from the United States who was seized in Canada after being featured on America's Most Wanted; a repeat escapee who shot himself, preferring death to recapture; a serial killer on the prowl in a small community -- these are just a few of the felons whose prison break escapades continue to enthral and terrify.

Along with probing the origins, structure, and shortcomings of a variety of historic and contemporary correctional institutions, On the Lam brings into sharp focus the attempts -- sometimes successful, occasionally deadly -- of masterminds, tricksters, scoundrels, and innocents to claw their way to freedom.