Former British soldier Sam Norwood James D'Arcy returns from Iraq, haunted by the death of his close friend Douglas and newly faced with a grim job market. He struggles to find steady work to support his wife Danielle Kate Magowan and their child, navigating a world where options feel thin and pressure mounts from every side.
Desperate to keep his family afloat, Sam is drawn toward an old crowd when Ray Panthaki portrays Neil, an associate who offers him a way back into drugs. The choice weighs heavily, but Sam ultimately chooses a steadier path, taking a job in a prison as an officer, or a “screw,” to provide for those he loves. He leaves behind the life that promises quick money for a routine that promises safety, even as the temptation of the old network lingers in the shadows.
Inside the prison walls, Sam passes basic training alongside two fellow recruits: the mild-mannered Curtis and the impulsive hothead, Niall. The staff roster is a mix of authority and seasoned rough edges: Chief Officer Rumpole played by Jamie Foreman, the hard-edged Deano Frank Harper, Jamie Andrew Shim (another officer), plus Eddie, with the female officer Charlie and the volatile Hunington rounding out the team. The warden Keenan makes it clear from the start that the prison runs under his absolute authority, a dynamic that will soon test every recruit’s moral line.
Early tensions flare when Hunington provokes a minor brawl that ends with Jamie being punched. Sam’s friction with Hunington after a shift leaves him ostracized, but Deano’s defense of Hunington nudges Sam toward a slow, uneasy detachment. Still, Sam finds camaraderie in his growing bond with Curtis and leans into Eddie’s guidance, discovering that he can handle both the day-to-day disturbances and the more demanding moments with a sense of purpose. After handling a few minor incidents and sharing post-shift pub trips with his colleagues, Sam begins to find a rhythm in the job he once viewed with skepticism.
A tense moment arrives when a specialist prisoner, Bear, is caught attempting to smuggle drugs. Sam and Eddie are forced to detain him, and Bear fights back, injuring Charlie and forcing Sam to apply strict, by-the-book restraint techniques. Deano later reveals Bear is an untouchable inmate—transferred to the prison after being assaulted in a previous facility—so Bear can cut a deal with Keenan, who is trying to project reformist credibility to his superiors. This revelation tightens the bond between Sam and Deano and Jamie as they mourn what Eddie’s dismissal represents, and Sam’s stance against the perceived injustice deepens his trust in Deano and Jamie.
Sam’s sense of justice is further shaken when he clashes with Truman Noel Clarke, one of the prison’s top inmates, and with Steadman, Truman’s right-hand man. Keenan tries to warn Sam off any further challenge, hinting that stepping over the line could trigger a police inquiry into Sam’s own conduct. Despite the risks, Sam voices his concerns about Eddie’s unfair treatment and finds himself pulled deeper into a web of prison politics, personal loyalties, and a growing sense that something isn’t right with the structure around him.
The stress of the job takes a heavy toll on Sam. The daily strain—plus Truman discovering Sam’s address and Steadman’s confinement in solitary—pushes Sam toward his breaking point. A prisoner’s suicide adds to the mounting pressure, and Sam channels his frustration into trying to keep his own psyche intact. The situation intensifies as Truman and Steadman murder Bear after uncovering the special treatment Bear received, a revelation that exposes the manipulation at the heart of the prison’s power dynamics.
Amid the escalating turmoil, a fellow inmate’s tip leaks through the cracks: Curtis reveals there is a snitch inside the prison. This tip helps uncover illegal activity, and Steadman is caught with a sizable stash of drugs and the clothes Truman wore to kill Bear. The forensic findings promise to settle some questions, but the atmosphere remains electric with suspicion and fear. Then a devastating blow lands: Curtis is killed, leaving Sam reeling and forced to share the truth with Danielle, who stands by him as he opens up about his struggles.
The death pulls Sam into a harder truth: Deano and Jamie are not just loosening the screws of the system—they are deeply implicated in its corruption, working with Truman to run drugs inside the prison. Sam reveals what he’s learned to Jamie, hoping to find support, but the situation spirals into a riot that engulfs the facility. During the chaos, Niall is taken hostage along with another officer, and Sam, along with Jamie, makes a dangerous charge toward Truman and Deano. The truth comes to light in a brutal twist: Deano and Jamie are bent allies, and Truman has been orchestrating the operation all along. The prize for Sam is survival and the hope that truth might outlive the rot—yet the risk is he could be marked as the next casualty.
Truman, sensing a path to safety, strikes a deal with Keenan to avoid repercussions for Bear’s death and to secure a transfer to a safer wing. In exchange, Truman agrees to testify against Deano and Jamie, exposing their corruption and casting Sam as a possible hero in the process. The moment signals a fragile truce between Sam and the prison’s power brokers, a reconciliation that is underscored by a quiet exchange of eyes between Sam and Rumpole as they share a cigarette outside. With Keenan’s nod, Sam hands over his keys and steps into a new chapter, leaving the prison behind to reunite with Danielle.
The final scene follows Sam and his family driving away, Danielle steady by his side as they start anew. The weight of the past lingers, but Sam smiles with relief as the car disappears into the distance, a return to family life offering a small but real measure of peace after a harrowing stretch of duty, loyalty, and hard-won truth.
