Incarceron is a prison - ''the prison'' - of the future. Sealed away, it is believed by those on the Outside to be a paradise, the ultimate in rehabilitation theory. A century and a half previously, all criminals and dissenters were sent to Incarceron along with seventy of the Sapienti, a caste of mystics, scientists and healers, in order to create a paradise from a hell. But it didn't work. Incarceron is a sealed world of savagery where dreams of escape are the only crumbs of comfort. And in a place where the prison has taken on a life of its own, what hope is there? One young prisoner, Finn, has visions that give him hope. He is determined to escape.